The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is currently on the front line of the extraordinary efforts being made to reach areas like Madaya, Zabadani, Foah and Kufraya, where the population is living under siege and in atrocious conditions in terms of food and nutrition. For this purpose, the Directorate General for Development Cooperation has approved a 250,000 euro contribution to be made to provide support, together with the new Italian Development Cooperation Agency, for the distribution of food aid in Syria, managed by the United Nations World Food Programme .
In particular, following the recent authorisation given by the Syrian Government to allow aid to travel through humanitarian corridors, in the next few hours a UN inter-agency convoy may reach the city of Madaya, around 11 km from the border with Lebanon, to provide emergency food aid. Food rations will be distributed to around 40,000 people in the cities of Madaya and Zabadani, each one intended to cover the needs of a family for one month, while a further 4,000 family food rations will reach the cities of Foah and Kufraya, supporting around 20,000 people for one month.
Besides the WFP, the initiative also involves the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Syrian Red Crescent, UNICEF and the WHO, as part of a joint effort to ensure deliveries of medicines and other essentials to besieged communities.
