July 17, 2011 | Help
International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell has urged the international community to do all they can to help those suffering from the worst drought in over half a century in east Africa. Estimates from the World Food Programme and the charities involved with the relief effort, including Save The Children and Unicef, have revealed that around 10 million people are directly suffering as a result of the drought, which has been made worse by the political instability surrounding the region.
Mr Mitchell, currently in Kenya assessing the situation, revealed that the situation is only getting worse as time goes on, so it is vital that everyone who "can help" across the world does just that to prevent the crisis turning into a catastrophe.
The UK has already pledged £52.25m in emergency aid but with areas only now starting to open up to foreign aid that had previously been shut off by Islamist groups, that figure is bound to make just an imprint on the problem, rather than the sort of major impression badly needed by those affected.
A large proportion of that money is expected to be spent on reinforcing the infrastructure at the Dadaab camp, which is currently holding four times the number of people expected to arrive there after fleeing from the worst-hit areas. With over 1,500 new arrivals coming into the camp each day, the need to improve what is already there is massive. The collected funds will also help a total of 300,000 Kenyans who are struggling in the absence of specialised ration packs designed for young children and breastfeeding mothers.
The scale of the crisis has made the celebrity world sit up and take notice, and it won't be too surprising if the coming months see a fund-raising event on the scale of Live Aid or Comic Relief, which always finds support among the likes of UK-based comics Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer.
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