The United Nations food aid agency is scaling up its efforts to reach hundreds of thousands of Syrians affected by an armed struggle for freedom and persistent drought in the Middle Eastern country.

Officials with the World Food Programme plan to target 250,000 hungry people per month inside the country until December 2012, based on a request by Syrian Arab Red Crescent to increase emergency food distribution. This would more than double the number of beneficiaries from the 100,000 Syrians now served each month, and the WFP plans to reach 500,000 people in the next few weeks.

The violence in Syria began in March 2011 as a protest movement against the government of President Bashar Hafez al-Assad similar to others in countries across the Middle East and North Africa. The conflict has to date claimed more than 9,000 lives, mostly civilians, and displaced tens of thousands of other Syrians.

Last month, a government-led assessment mission jointly carried out by seven UN agencies and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, estimated that as many as one million Syrians are in need of humanitarian assistance.

World Food Programme officials say that even before violence broke out in Syria, a food security survey found that 1.4 million people - especially those from areas hit hard by a drought in previous years - were struggling to feed themselves and that they are concentrated in areas currently affected by unrest.

The drought has continued for years, since 2006 in many areas. Severe drought affecting an area with 1.3 million inhabitants has meant that farmers have not been able to harvest for four consecutive years, while many herders have lost over 80 percent of their livelihood for lack of pasture and fodder, according to an appeal for emergency funds covering the period August 2009 through December 2010 made by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent.

The UN has presented a multi-million dollar plan to respond to humanitarian needs in Syria, but as yet has not secured government approval to move it forward.

The US$180 million plan includes dozens of projects to respond to the needs of one million people over six months, with most of the money earmarked for food and health care.

Working in partnership with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, the World Food Programme has been providing food aid for up to 100,000 people a month in cities such as Homs, Hama, Idleb and Damascus. Yet, some parts of these areas remain inaccessible for UN staff.

Assistance comes in the form of a monthly food basket containing basic foods - grains, oil, sugar, canned meat and beans - equivalent to 74 percent of the daily energy requirement per person per day.

This week, WFP also began distributing hot meals to Syrian refugees living in Syria's neighbor Jordan, providing food packages to 15,000 people, in cooperation with the Jordanian Hashemite Charity Society and the Jordanian Red Crescent.

WFP's emergency operation for Syria was launched in August 2011 with a projected budget of $37.4 million. The agency is still seeking funding, as less than half that amount has been secured.