Issue 215

Up to 42 per cent of children and adults are at risk of malnutrition in the worst affected areas in the region, which is experiencing its worst drought since 1993. Two seasons of poor rains have resulted in the lowest crop production in 10 years, and many schools have closed as a result.

These children need support immediately and Save the Children is calling on the public to raise £400,000 to ensure we can save lives.

Jasmine Whitbread, CEO of Save the Children, said:

“This food crisis is the result of a massive drought hitting families living in chronic poverty. Right now when children’s lives are in danger we all have a moral obligation to do what we can.

“It is vital that relief efforts are targeted towards children as they are always the most vulnerable to food and water shortages in such emergencies. With the help of the British public, Save the Children saved more than 20,000 children in Niger last year, and we can do more of the same here.”

Save the Children is initially seeking to bring life-saving support to over 20,000 of the most vulnerable children and their families during the coming months. We will work to prevent further loss of life and livelihoods by providing specially designed nutritional food to children suffering from malnutrition. We will also strengthen local health services and support education through provision of emergency water support and school feeding programmes to keep children fed and in school.

What your money will buy? £10 buys 500 sachets of Oral Rehydration Salts or 1,000 vitamin A tablets £25 buys 150 sachets of Plumpynut – enough to feed 150 malnourished children per day £50 buys 2 boxes of Therapeutic feeding milk for treating severe malnutrition

Save the Children will respond in Kenya and Somalia in addition to our ongoing emergency work in Ethiopia to provide a coordinated regional response to the current emergency, whilst working to mitigate the chronic and cyclical nature of drought that affects the area.

To donate to the Children of East Africa Appeal please call 0800 8 148 148, visit www.savethechildren.org.uk or visit one of the Save the Children shops across the UK.

Source: Save the Children – UK Mar 02, 2006

For more information please contact:

Save the Children Press Office: 0207 012 6841 or 07831 650409

Email address: media@savethechildren.org.uk

In Kenya, following an assessment of some of the § Notes to editors: worst hit areas such as the Isiolo and Kajiado districts, Save the Children is putting in place a 12-month programme to support approximately 100,000 children under the age of 5 who are not currently receiving sufficient food, water or health care appropriate to their needs. We are currently carrying out an In Somalia, Save the § assessment in the North-eastern part of the country. Children is carrying out an assessment with a view to scaling up operations based in the Hiran region of central and southern Somalia, the Togdheer region of Somaliland, and in Puntland, in north-east Somalia. The key areas of work are food security and livelihoods, basic primary education , water and sanitation, Save the Children fights for vulnerable children in the § basic health services. UK and around the World who suffer from poverty, disease, injustice and violence. Working with them to find lifelong answers to the problems they face.

Registered Office: Save the Children UK, 1 St. John's Lane, London, EC1M 4AR. A company registered in London no. 178159 and limited by guarantee, Registered charity no. 213890,VAT registered no. 239 5393 33. Patron: Her Majesty the Queen, President:: Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal, Chief Executive: Jasmine Whitbread, Save the Children is a member of the International Save the Children Alliance.

[Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

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