Sir, – My aim in writing my recent piece (Opinion, June 26th) was hardly to deprive the Syrian people of humanitarian aid but to ensure that they receive it (Letters, June 29th).
The UN’s current approach of funnelling aid through Damascus enables the Syrian government to siphon off large quantities of it, which it uses to worsen the humanitarian crisis by financing attacks on hospitals and other civilian institutions.
The better approach is to send aid across the border from Turkey, as the UN Security Council has authorised, ensuring that aid gets to those in need wherever they are in Syria rather than to those who kill and besiege them. – Yours, etc,
Dr ANNIE SPARROW,
Assistant Professor,
Population Health Science &
Policy,
Icahn school of medicine,
Mount Sinai Hospital,
New York, US.