horn_africa_9_19
General Mills Foundation matches Horn of Africa donations
September 19, 2011
| General Mills Corporate Communications |
When Dr. Jill Biden was in Kenya, she saw families who had walked barefoot for days and even weeks, often barefoot and with no possessions, to find food and medical care.
"I also saw first-hand that even the smallest and simplest investments can save lives. Aid is working," says the wife of Joe Biden, United States vice president.
In response, a public awareness campaign is directing people to text GIVE to 777444 to donate $10 to a consortium of humanitarian organizations - American Refugee Committee, CARE, Catholic Relief Services, Mercy Corps, Save the Children, UNICEF USA, World Vision, and World Food Program USA. All are working in the Horn of Africa.
The General Mills Foundation is stepping forward, matching the first 2,000 donations of $10.
In August, the Foundation pledged up to $100,000 to help with famine relief in the Horn of Africa.
13 million struggle to survive Across the eastern Horn of Africa, more than 13 million people – exceeding than the populations of Houston and New York City combined – are in need of emergency assistance to survive. Four million are living through the worst famine in 20 years.
The crisis is the most severe humanitarian emergency in the world today, and the worst that East Africa has seen in six decades. Crops have failed, livestock have died, and prices in local markets are too high for most people to buy what is needed to feed their families.
Millions of people are affected in Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya, and in Somalia tens of thousands of people have died as a result of the crisis
Addressing root causes The public awareness campaign, formally announced today at Mashable's 2nd Annual Social Good Summit in New York, also highlights President Obama's Feed the Future initiative to prevent these types of disasters from happening again.
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has partnered with the Ad Council to launch this campaign that encourages Americans to support the humanitarian organizations conducting the relief operations.
Through the Feed the Future initiative, the United States Government is addressing the root causes of chronic hunger by helping foster better farming, stronger markets, and greater resilience to climate shocks.
People can visit www.usaid.gov/FWD to find more information about the crisis and a listing of U.S.-funded humanitarian organizations working in the Horn of Africa that are accepting donations to aid in disaster relief.
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