New York ( CNN ) -- The World Food Programme is ramping up its Syria operations in anticipation of greater demand from inside and outside the country , but lack of access is proving problematic , the U.N. group 's executive director told reporters Tuesday . `` Most of my time has been spent with donors as well as the representatives from the neighboring countries regarding our operation in Syria , '' Ertharin Cousin said at the Social Good Summit , which coincides with the meeting of world leaders here at the U.N. General Assembly . The program , which provides services to 3 million Syrians inside the country and 1.2 million outside , is making plans to boost those numbers next month to 4 million inside the country and 1.5 million to 1.7 million outside , she said . The program has 80 international staffers and 300 national staffers supporting the region . Though some of them are working from Amman , Jordan , others are spread across all 14 governorates of Syria , she said . But the group has had access `` issues of access '' to some areas `` for some time , '' she said . Cousin did not say whether those issues were caused by the government or rebel forces . `` What I 've said is that bullets do n't tell you what side they come from , '' she said . `` There 's enough complicity to go around we need all parties to provide us with access . '' WFP is not involved in politics , she said . `` We deal with the consequences of failed politics . '' Because of their apolitical stance , WFP representatives are able to talk to all sides in the civil war , `` and that 's what we do , '' she said . But the outlook is grim if access is not gained soon . Cousin predicted that images of children suffering from severe malnutrition will emerge from the country this winter for a third year in a row . `` Those pictures will get worse and we , as the international community , should not wait until we have famine-like conditions before we bring attention to the fact that we do n't have access to too many of these areas . '' She credited aggressive planning with helping authorities avert a famine last year in Niger . The challenges can go beyond meeting nutritional needs , she said , citing one Syrian man 's anger over the bread offered to him in a refugee camp in Jordan where she was visiting recently . `` He said , 'This is not Syrian bread ; it is Jordanian bread , and they have their own recipe for bread , ' `` she recalled . The program worked with Jordanian bakers to rejigger the recipe . `` When we have the opportunity and the ability to meet not only nutritional needs but cultural needs , we try to comply , '' she said , adding that that was not always possible . Last year , WFP fed nearly 99 million people in 88 countries , she said . It is 100 % voluntarily funded , and each year it must raise the funds it expects to use by asking for them . Last year 's total was just over $ 4 billion . But its resources are finite . Some 10 million people in Yemen are `` food insecure , '' meaning they live in hunger or in fear of starvation , she said . And Haiti has reduced the size of its school feeding program , despite ongoing need , `` because we 're underresourced , '' Cousin said . Over the long term , more challenges await . She said WFP is working with the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization to prepare for the effects of climate change by getting more drought-tolerant seeds to farmers . Veteran correspondent kidnapped in Syria . Al Qaeda-linked group in Syria denounces pro-democracy rebels .
Executive director for U.N. program says access in Niger is a serious worry . The organization has 100 international staff and 300 national staffers supporting the project . Ertharin Cousin praised aggressive planning , which prevented disaster in Niger .