Louisa Akavi is a New Zealand Red Cross nurse and recipient of the rarely awarded Florence Nightingale Medal. Akavi was kidnapped in Syria in October 2013 and subsequently taken hostage by Islamic State forces in May 2014. Akavi's captivity remained a tightly held secret by the New Zealand Government and media for the past five years. On 15 March 2019, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) disclosed her identity following the fall of the Islamic State's last stronghold in Syria. New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed that the New Zealand Government is still trying to rescue and bring her home.