Around half a million refugees living in Kenya will receive reduced food rations, the United Nations World Food Program has announced.

The refugees are mainly South Sudanese and Somalis in the Dadaab and Kakuma camps.

The WFP says around half a million refugees, mainly from Somalia and South Sudan, living in the Dadaab and Kakuma camps in remote areas in northern Kenya, will receive reduced rations as a result of insufficient funding.

“WFP depends entirely on voluntary contributions from donors who generously support food assistance for refugees,” said Valerie Guarnieri, WFP’s Regional Director for East and Central Africa.

“With competing humanitarian needs around the world, we realize budgets are tight but nonetheless, we must call for more funding so that we can work with the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to meet the urgent needs of these vulnerable people, who have no other means of support.”

The ration cut of 50% comes as WFP struggles to raise $38 million to cover its refugee operation for the next six months.

This includes $15.5 million urgently required to address food needs through January 2015.

WFP Deputy Country Director for Kenya, Paul Turnbull says the organization has done everything it can to avoid reducing rations, using all means at our disposal to cover critical funding gaps.

He says cutting rations is the last resort and they are doing it to take out the limited food we currently have available over the next ten weeks.

WFP’s Regional Director for East and Central Africa, Valerie Guarnieri says they depend entirely on voluntary contributions from donors who generously support food assistance for refugees.

He appealed more funding so that they can work with the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to meet the urgent needs of the refugees.