The UNHCR announced a joint initiative with the World Food Programme (WFP) to save up to 10,000 refugees and migrants stuck in Libya from malnourishment and starvation. The program comes amid the global coronavirus pandemic.

The UN refugee agency said that the first distribution of food began in the Sarraj neighborhood of Tripoli on June 15.

“The partnership was launched in recognition of the severe socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in Libya as well as the effects of the ongoing conflict,” UNHCR and WFP said in a statement. “Many refugees say that they are only able to afford to eat one meal a day.”

The UN agencies said that most migrants in Libya “have been unable to find any daily work to support themselves as curfews have been introduced and food prices and the cost of basic goods have dramatically risen.”