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International aid to Horn of Africa. Following a statement made on Tuesday, July 5 by the
United Nations, warning that hunger conditions in Somalia could lead to unimaginable proportions
of human tragedy, aid organization Oxfam's Humanitarian Director Jane Cocking further
highlighted the dire situation as she said that 12 million people in the Horn of Africa
are facing “a fight for survival.” This comes as the people in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia
and Djibouti experience the region's worst drought in 60 years, raising food prices and
the risk of further conflict. More than half of those affected are children, with the majority
of the remainder being women. The Dadaab camps in Kenya now house some 380,000 people, with
over 10,000 Somalis arriving in precarious health conditions every week, having trekked
through dry lands for days.
Melissa Fleming, Chief Spokesperson, United Nations Refugee Agency (F): We are warning
that humanitarian efforts to help newly arriving Somali refugees in South East Ethiopia are
at risk of being overwhelmed without a more rapid and robust international response to
the drought and displacement crisis in the Horn of Africa.
On Wednesday, the European Commission announced a €5.67 million donation, raising its total
contributions to nearly €70 million this year, while Ireland added to a previously
donated €4 million with an additional €400,000 to provide food supplies and to treat malnourished
children through the humanitarian organization Concern. Meanwhile, Norway is increasing her
donation by €4.3 million for a total of €30.1 million to assist the operations of
organizations such as the UN and the Red Cross. To help facilitate the delivery of vital goods
and services, the group al-Shabab in Somalia also announced the lifting of a previous ban
on all non-Muslim humanitarian aid, a decision welcomed by the UN along with an urging for
the group to ensure the safety of the aid workers in the group's territories.
Melissa Fleming, Chief Spokesperson, United Nations Refugee Agency: We’re struggling.
We’re doing our best with our partners but the inflow is outpacing our capability and
the systems for meeting food and health needs are close to buckling.
When the international charities had first appealed to the public for emergency donations,
Supreme Master Ching Hai on July 5 had immediately pledged US$100,000 to each of the groups Save
the Children, Oxfam and the Red Cross, for a total of US$300,000, with a personal message
saying that she was doing so “with love and gratitude to these noble organizations.”
Our deep appreciation and Heaven bless all governments and organizations for your provision
of lifesaving assistance to the vulnerable, as we also thank Supreme Master Ching Hai
for her heartfelt support. As we pray for the resilience and recovery of the beautiful
Horn of Africa people, may we act in kindness everywhere to restore peace and prosperity
to all corners of
the world�