Food Assistance

UNHCR TT discontinues COVID-19 food support programme

December 28th, 2022

UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency, is mandated to protect people forced to flee and help find durable solutions so they can live in safety and with access to their rights. 

From the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, as governments around the world – including Trinidad and Tobago – implemented lockdown procedures to mitigate the spread of the virus, UNHCR noted that food security would be fundamental to the well-being of the thousands of refugees and asylum-seekers we protect in the country.

As part of its pandemic response in April 2020, UNHCR mobilized emergency funding, and in partnership with Living Water Community (LWC), sought to provide immediate relief via hampers and vouchers to the most vulnerable in the community, many of whom were unable to earn a living because of the lockdown and restrictions on various sectors.

Since then, UNHCR and LWC have supported over 6,000 refugee, migrant, and local households with food assistance, allowing them to focus on other aspects of daily life, including seeking livelihoods opportunities.

Now that most countries have moved beyond the initial protocols instituted for the pandemic and as life returns to pre-pandemic routines, from January 1, 2023, UNHCR will discontinue our emergency food assistance. UNHCR and other humanitarian partners remain committed to providing essential support services to refugees and migrants, as well as advocating for enhanced protection systems for people who have been forcibly displaced.  For more information on the services UNHCR and our partners offer or to provide your feedback, please visit: https://help.unhcr.org/trinidadandtobago/.