Hunger in Syria is a present-day crisis that has become prominent since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war and exacerbated by the country's efforts to control the spread of the covid-19 coronavirus. The United Nations reported in 2020 that Syria faced "an unprecedented hunger crisis" as food prices had risen by 200 percent within a year[1] with "tens of thousands" at risk of famine in the north-west region of the country, described as "the worst humanitarian crisis since violence broke out in Syria nine years ago".[2] The World Food Program was supporting 4.8 million Syrians in need of food.[1]
In June 2020, the head of the United Nations World Food Programme, David Beasley, said that a million Syrians were in severe need of food, with a risk of mass starvation without aid money.[3] The food shortages were exacerbated by the country's efforts to control the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic during 2020. In July 2020, an estimated 8-9 million Syrians, representing around half of the country, were classed as food insecure, which was an increase of 1.4 million people since the start of the year.[4] By February 2021, this number was reported by the World Food Programme as being 9.3 million people, the highest amount ever recorded.[5]