Mercy Corps: Continued Humanitarian Access Needed in Madaya, Syria
Portland, OR (PRWEB) January 11, 2016 -- The global organization Mercy Corps urges all parties to the conflict in Syria to allow humanitarian organizations rapid, safe and unfettered access to the towns of Madaya and Bukain through the most direct routes in order to reach thousands of innocent civilians at risk of starvation.
According to the United Nations, some 42,000 people have been trapped in Madaya since July 2015 without access to food, medical supplies or fuel for heat. There are credible reports of severe cases of malnutrition and deaths due to starvation.
“Civilians cannot wait for politicians to hammer out a solution to the war in Syria, which may take years. Men, women and children in Madaya need help now,” says Ashley Proud, South Central Syria Director for Mercy Corps.
While the United Nations was able to bring an aid convoy to the small mountainous town today for the first time in months, Mercy Corps says that this will not be enough.
“The malnourishment we are seeing in besieged areas will not be solved by a single aid delivery. We must have unfettered, direct humanitarian access so that the people of Madaya – and all Syrians in need – receive deliveries of lifesaving supplies,” says Proud.
About 4.5 million people in Syria live in hard-to-reach areas, including over 400,000 people in besieged locations who do not have access to lifesaving aid. Mercy Corps is one of the largest providers of humanitarian assistance throughout Syria, including in hard-to-reach and besieged areas.
Christy Delafield, Mercy Corps, http://www.mercycorps.org, +1 202-394-1712, [email protected]
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