Two UN agencies and the Ugandan government say shortage of funding has forced a revision of food rations given to South Sudanese refugees in the country.

They say around 200,000 refugees who arrived in Uganda prior to July 2015 will have their food rations or cash assistance reduced by 50 percent from this week.

In a joint statement, UNHCR, the World Food Program, and the Ugandan Office of the Prime Minister have appealed to donors to urgently speed contributions to the humanitarian response to refugees in Uganda, to end a funding shortage that has forced a revision of survival rations.

They say low levels of funding, together with a large number of new arrivals fleeing to Uganda from South Sudan since 7 July, has left the refugee response with no choice but to re-prioritize their focus on those refugees in greatest need.

“We have been left with no option but to reduce food assistance for many of the refugees in Uganda, in order to stretch available resources and prioritize the most vulnerable new arrivals,” the World Food Program (WFP) acting country director in Uganda, Mike Sackett, said in a statement.

The statement says refugees who arrived in Uganda after July 2015, as well as those who have been identified as particularly vulnerable, such as the elderly, orphans, the chronically ill and those in need of treatment for malnutrition will continue to receive a full ration.

Refugees receiving full rations are provided with 2,122 calories of food per person per day during their first year, decreasing as they become increasingly self-reliant during their time in Uganda.

Other refugees receive cash assistance in place of food rations, which also provides them with the opportunity to exercise greater personal choice.

WFP says it requires approximately US$7 million every month to provide life-saving food assistance to refugees in Uganda.