After a multitude of harrowing reports surfaced of people dying of starvation in the besieged town of Madaya, Syria, the Syrian government is allowing the United Nations to provide immediate humanitarian aid to its residents, as well as those of two neighbouring towns under siege by anti-government groups.
A number of disturbing images and videos that have recently come out of Madaya, a town northwest of the capital, Damascus, show an emaciated child crying, the corpse of a skeletal man, and a woman stirring grass in boiling water as a source of food.
The UN said it had received “credible” reports of people starving to death and being killed when trying to leave Madaya, a town of almost 42,000 residents just 16 kilometres from Damascus. The last time Madaya received food aid was back in mid-October.
As the UN World Food Programme, the International Red Cross, and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent work to get aid supplies and food to residents, there are a number of ways that people all around the world can offer aid to those suffering in Syria.
Here are three organisations providing relief to those in Madaya and other parts of Syria that you can help with their humanitarian efforts.
Doctors Without Borders
Medics with this French group working in Madaya have confirmed that 250 people are suffering from severe acute malnutrition, with 10 patients in critical need of hospitalisation. The organisation, also known as Medecins Sans Frontieres, says that 23 people have died since December 1 in its health center in Madaya. Medical staff reports working in “unbearable” conditions with the added stress of food insecurity.
The organisation is calling for critical medical supplies to help aid staff and patients, in addition to immediate evacuation of sick residents so they can be provided with a safe treatment center and access to needed medical aid.
United Nations World Food Programme
Abeer Etefa, a spokesperson for the WFP, told CNN yesterday, “People are living off nothing. This is an area that’s completely besieged and surrounded by mountains covered in snow, so the little food that gets in is through tunnels and is extremely expensive."
She said the convoy can provide everyone in Madaya with enough supplies to last a month. But after that time, the future is unclear.
International Committee of the Red Cross
The ICRC and Syrian Arab Red Crescent are working to provide assistance to 500,000 people in towns currently under siege, including Madaya, Foua, and Kefraya.
“When we last managed to go to Madaya in October we saw despair, we saw hunger in the eyes of the people,” said ICRC spokesperson Dibeh Fakhr in a video interview. “We saw mothers not able to breastfeed their newborn babies.”
With 12 million people in dire need of aid in Syria, the ICRC needs donations to provide those suffering with the assistance needed to survive. Click here to donate to the Australian Red Cross Syria Crisis Appeal, and find out more about Red Cross work in the area.
