2011/08/23
Already Several Tens of Thousands Have Starved in East Africa!
In the "Horn of Africa," consisting of countries such as Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia, there is a severe food shortage due to drought. Currently over 13 million suffer from hunger.
Especially in war-torn Somalia, the worst drought in the past 60 years and delays in food aid delivery have put 3.7 million people in danger of starvation. The United Nations has declared southern Somalia to be in a state of famine.
This means that 30% of Somali children are malnourished, and at least two people in ten thousand die every day. It is reported in the southern region that over half of the children are skin and bones, suffering from extreme malnutrition, and have no strength even to cry.
People have fled to Kenya and Ethiopia in search of food and water, and refugee camps near the border are overflowing. Kenya, already facing food shortages due to drought and rapid rises in food prices, now has 500,000 refugees, and there are 3.5 million in need of food.
The international community is rapidly trying to provide aid, but due to civil war, Somalia is becoming increasingly unstable, and distributing aid is fraught with problems.
In response to this situation, we at Japan International Food for the Hungry, in cooperation with our partners Food for the Hungry, the Barnabus Fund, and Stop Hunger Now, are providing emergency aid. Food for the Hungry is distributing food aid and immunizations in northeastern Kenya and southern Ethiopia, where the food supply is becoming increasingly problematic as refugees from Somalia pour in. The Barnabus Fund is distributing flour in southeastern Ethiopia, near the border with Somalia.
Meanwhile, Stop Hunger Now (SHN) is planning on distributing 570,000 emergency meal packs (enough food for six months for 3,500 people) at refugee camps, schools, and orphanages. SHN also plans on distributing another 700,000 meals in northeastern Kenya and Ethiopia.
Africa may seem far away. However, in the wake of the recent disaster in eastern Japan, countries around the world, including those in Africa, sent aid to Japan. Knowing what help that aid was to us, we cannot ignore the suffering of people elsewhere in the world. There are things that each of us can do.
Please show love to your neighbors suffering from hunger. We appreciate any help you can give us.
