GWEN IFILL:

But now those vouchers, a vital lifeline to so many, have been suspended by the U.N.'s World Food Program because of a severe cash shortage. That means 1.7 million Syrians living in Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, and Iraq face an immediate food shortage.

They're part of an estimated 3.2 million Syrians spread across the Middle East. The WFP says donor countries failed to meet financial commitments, and it warned today of potentially dire consequences.

JANE HOWARD, Public Information officer, World Food Programme: We are expecting that people will maybe have to send their children out to work. They will have to skip meals. They will have to do without food. And what we are worried about is that some may even feel that they are forced to go back to Syria, even though their towns and villages are not necessarily safe.