I wanted to share with you some hopeful news on the humanitarian situation in Syria.
The United Nations World
Food Programme (WFP) delivered desperately needed food for over 80,000
people who have been stranded in five besieged Syrian towns, in a series
of UN interagency convoys that took place throughout the night and were
completed this morning.
“This
marks a major humanitarian breakthrough in Syria, but we must remember
that one-off and sporadic convoys can only provide temporary relief to
hungry, desperate people,” said WFP’s Syria Country Director Jakob Kern.
“People need to eat every single day. We hope that we can continue
these deliveries and keep bringing relief to the most vulnerable people
in all parts of the country.”
The humanitarian team on the ground
witnessed people in Moadamiyeh looking thin and haggard and children
looking small for their age. Moadamiyeh has been inaccessible for over a
year and a half. Civilians in the besieged area have been living off
grass and limited supplies of rice, which sells at prices up to fifty
times higher than in Damascus, which is only a few miles away.
The
interagency convoys also delivered medical supplies and equipment,
vaccines, water and sanitation items in addition to WFP food to families
who have been suffering the heavy burden of the conflict.
The convoys arrived Wednesday night to Moadamiyeh, Zabadani and Madaya in rural Damascus and Foah and Kefraya in Rural Idlib.
Each family in the five locations received two bags of wheat flour from
WFP and other basic food items, including rice, bulgur wheat, lentils,
canned food and cooking oil — all of which have been in extremely low
supply in all five locations for months. WFP also sent date bars that
are fortified with vitamins and minerals as well as specialized
nutritious foods that are used to treat and prevent malnutrition in
children.
Across Syria, WFP continues to provide food to more than 4 million
people every month and remains concerned about the humanitarian
suffering of all Syrians living in hard-to-reach areas across the
country. Please stay tuned in the days and weeks ahead for further updates and, as always, thank you for your steadfast support. Sincerely, AL NAIYEAM ISLAMIC CENTERWorld Food Program USA
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