Accessing Food Aid, Syria
Khaled Naanaa was a nurse in the town of Madaya, Syria. In July 2015, the Syrian regime and their allies completely surrounded the town with checkpoints and landmines, trapping the population and blocking the entrance to any food supplies. Access to food became very difficult and a number of patients in the hospital where she worked began to die of starvation. Khaled had contacted the United Nations for urgent food aid.
However, despite repeated requests, the Syrian regime denied the UN access into the city. Khaled sent videos and photos to a news outlet; the images quickly went viral and made headline news in Europe. It also made its way on to the agenda of the UN in New York. Faced with mounting pressure, the Syrian Government permitted a UN aid convoy to enter the city. Unfortunately, 28 residents, including six babies, had starved to death whilst waiting for assistance. [i]
References
[i] McNeil, S., Khaled Naanaa and his family fled to Perth after deaths threats in Syria, in Perth Now. 2016, Perth Now: Western Australia. http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/westernaustralia/khaled-naanaa-and-his-family-fled-toperth-after-deaths-threats-in-syria/news-story/b18d35a7c9832979daec6a068c2e816e