Relief Shipments Underway as Drought and Famine Worsens in East Africa
Millions Struggle to Survive in Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia
Somalia
has been without an effective central government since 1991, when clan militias overthrew the ruling
government and eventually turned on each other, leading to long-term civil
conflict.
In the summer of 2011,
amid ongoing political chaos, the country was hard-hit by a humanitarian crisis
of historic proportions. The worst drought in 60 years decimated crops and livestock,
resulting in famine that extended across the Horn of Africa. Tens of thousands
of Somalis have fled their homes in search of food and water, and U.N.
officials estimate that more than 12 million people are in need of emergency
aid. Babies, young children and pregnant women are especially at risk.
Help
AmeriCares continue to deliver lifesaving humanitarian aid to famine-stricken
Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia.
AmeriCares
has launched a large-scale emergency response in Somalia, including
the building of a field hospital in the Kambioos refugee camp in Kenya, along
with a series of ongoing shipments of medicines, nutritional supplements,
water purification tablets and medical supplies to help save as many lives as
possible in this beleaguered region of Africa.
Since
1985, when severe famine claimed one million lives in Ethiopia, AmeriCares
has worked to help African men, women and children in crisis. Previous aid to
Somalia includes more than $3 million in medicines, nutritional supplements,
and vitamins during the height of the drought and war-stricken nation’s food
crisis of 2008-09.
