16 Jan 2013

WFP / SYRIA

The World Food Program (WFP) received permission from the Syrian government to work with dozens more local partners to deliver food aid to the 2.5 million people suffering hunger in the country, the agency chief announced today (16 January). CH UNTV

Posted at: January 16, 2013 4:03 pm

Duration: 01:39

Available in: SD

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STORY: WFP / SYRIA
TRT: 1.39
SOURCE: CH UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 16 JANUARY 2013, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

SHOTLIST:

1. Wide shot, exterior, Palais des Nations with snow
2. Wide shot, Press briefing room 
3. Wide shot, journalists
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Ertharin Cousin, Executive Director, World Food Program: "last week we were given a list of 110 additional NGOs that we can now work with, 110.  We have assessed the operational capacity of that 110 and we have identified 44 NGOs on that list which will give us the availability to scale up to another million persons."
5. Cutaway, photographer
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Ertharin Cousin, Executive Director, World Food Program: "What we did not have in the past was permission from the Government to formally develop relationships with additional NGO partners.  We have now been given that authority from the Government." 
7. Cutaway, journalist
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Ertharin Cousin, Executive Director, World Food Program: "We are always limited by the violence regardless of how many new partners we bring on."
9. Cutaway, journalists
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Ertharin Cousin, Executive Director, World Food Program: 
"The reality is we are in a conflict zone.  There will be challenges to our ability to deliver.  Our goal is to overcome those challenges at every opportunity to ensure we provide the food that is necessary."
11. Wide shot, press room

STORYLINE:

Briefing journalists in Geneva following her recent trip to Turkey, WFP executive-director Ertharin Cousin said that the Syrian government had given the agency a list of 110 additional NGOs to now work with.

Cousin said that after assessing the operational capacity of those 110 NGOs WFP had identified 44 NGOs from the list "which will give us the availability to scale up to another million persons", but she went on to warn that "We are always limited by the violence regardless of how many new partners we bring on".

The WFP has been able to feed only up to 1.5 million people in Syria each month because of the fighting and a lack of local partners capable of delivering aid. Its activities have been restricted because the government stopped it working with many non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working in Syria.

Cousin also warned that the ability to deliver would be challenging and added that, "Our goal is to overcome those challenges at every opportunity to ensure we provide the food that is necessary".