If the situation in Syria wasn’t bad enough, the plight of the world’s greatest disaster has taken a worrying turn for the worse. 400,000 have died in Syria over the past 5 years, but, now, within weeks, the world faces the painful reality that hundreds of thousands may be wiped out by starvation in the besieged areas of Aleppo, Idlib and Madaya.
Words cannot describe the brutal and gruesome reality for the people living in besieged areas of Syria. Desperate to escape the constant fighting, shelling and snipers, they’re surrounded by constant fear and torment. Parents have no food for their starving children and malnutrition is at an all time high. There is no running water or electricity. The prices for basic commodities are dozens of times higher than in neighbouring countries. Pregnant women cannot give birth safely, nor do they have access to painkillers or the care needed during birth. Without any adequate medical facilities, people die in their beds. While unspeakable sexual crimes are taking place regularly.
A recent World Health Organization (WHO) report indicated that healthcare is attacked in Syria more than any other place on earth. Around 5.5 million people are in need in hard-to-reach and besieged areas. Of that number, some 590,000 people remain totally trapped in besieged areas.
At this current time and due to the corridors being shut, Human Appeal and all aid agencies do not have access to Aleppo city. Human Appeal has been working directly with vulnerable and internally displaced persons (IDPs) mainly and more recently in the Aleppo Governorate (rural Aleppo and Aza’z sub-district which is in the northern countryside of Aleppo Governorate) and Idleb (south-west of Aleppo).
Human Appeal is providing aid in the form of Ready to Eat rations (RTE’s) as an immediate nutrition and basic food supplement, emergency WASH facilities, emergency shelter and wheat flour for bread making.
The distribution of 20,000 RTE’s to IDPs, vulnerable and food insecure households (HHs) as well as a daily distribution of free bread (by providing flour to bakeries - flour distributed over the past 3 months was 340MT 20,000 IDPs) and aiding bakeries in their running costs has targeted approximately 20,000 beneficiaries so far.
Human Appeal has supported millions since the conflict erupted but this is the most pressing issue the charity has faced. We must act fast. We can't let one of the greatest disasters in history unfold in front of our eyes.
