OVERSEAS AID charity Concern has called on Irish people to continue donating for famine relief in the Horn of Africa. Chief executive Tom Arnold said the crisis “is not going away anytime soon”.
Last month the United Nations declared famine in two regions of southern Somalia and said it could spread if action was not taken quickly. The region, including Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia, has been experiencing severe drought.
Concern said yesterday it was reaching over 500,000 people in response to the drought and it plans to increase the number of people it reaches over the coming months.
It took delivery of a shipment of supplies, including shelter materials, cooking utensils and mosquito nets, from the Irish Government in Mogadishu, Somalia, this week and is also running emergency feeding programmes in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia, as well as water and sanitation projects. “At this point in time, it is clear that we still want to reach more people,” Mr Arnold said.
Other Irish charities working in the area include Trócaire, Goal and Oxfam Ireland.
