Madaya – The Italian Foreign Ministry is taking the lead in an extraordinary effort to reach areas like Madaya, Zabadani, Foah and Kufraya, in Syria, where the population living under siege has to withstand dramatic conditions, with little food and safe access to water. The Italian Cooperation has approved a contribution of €250.000 to support, together with the new Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, operations of food aid distribution in the country, managed by the World Food Programme (WFP). In particular, after the recent authorization by the Syrian government to allow the transit of aid through humanitarian corridors, a UN inter-agency convoy is making its way to Madaya, about 11 kilometers from the border with Lebanon, to provide emergency food assistance. Here, the teams will distribute food rations to about 40,000 people in the town of Madaya and Zabadani, providing for the needs of the population for a month. Some 4,000 family food rations will reach the cities of Foah and Kufraya, benefiting an estimated 20,000 people for one month. The initiative sees the collaboration of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Syrian Red Crescent, UNICEF and the WHO, as part of a collective effort to bring to the besieged communities medicines and other basic necessities. (9Colonne)
