As the famine and Cholera crisis worsens in Somalia, we must turn our attention to the horrendous conditions affecting hundreds of thousands of African men, women and children right now. In addition to Somalia, four other African nations on the Horn of Africa have reported a surge in Chlolera, which is spread through dirty water. Children are the most vulnerable to the worsening disease and famine conditions. UNICEF’s emergency aid workers were the first western aid workers to arrive in the capital of Somalia, Mogadishu, this morning August, 15, 2011. “Hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost already in Somalia and neighboring countries, and many more are at stake. Yet the international community remains slow in its humanitarian response to this worsening crisis. Unless there is a massive increase in aid, food-security experts predict, the famine will spread rapidly,” reports UNICEF. Hospitals are already overwhelmed with children dying of hunger and disease. UNICEF’s priority is getting people in need, access to the food they need to survive.
All eyes are now on the international community to take more concerted action on behalf of children at risk in the Horn of Africa.
“Children don’t choose where they are born, to whom they are born, what type of government rules them, what type of context within which they will grow up, thrive and survive,” notes UNICEF’s Director of Public Sector Alliances and Resource Mobilization, Afshan Khan. “There is a moral obligation to respond in this crisis. We are all human beings.”
Working in over 150 countries, UNICEF provides children with health care, clean water, nutrition, education, protection, emergency relief, and more. UNICEF USA supports UNICEF’s work through fundraising, advocacy, and education in the United States. Despite extraordinary progress, 22,000 children still die each day from preventable causes. Their mission: to do whatever it takes to make that number zero by giving children the essentials for a safe and healthy childhood. For more information on how you can help visit www.unicefusa.org or consider car donation to UNICEF USA which ensures that your vehicle is sold for the highest proceeds possible in order to reach children in need worldwide. Find out more about car donations for kids by visiting the UNICEF USA website.
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