International Day for the Eradication of Poverty: In Kenya alone 222,720 children could die of starvation by Christmas
While the rain continues to pour down here in Australia, the Horn of Africa is facing its fifth consecutive year of drought with more than 20 million people facing the prospect of famine by Christmas. Kenya is one of the most impacted regions where 3.5 million people are starving, a number that is expected to increase to 4.4 million by Christmas.
According to the IPC, there are over 884,000[1] children under 5 years of age that are acutely malnourished. For 25% these children their situation has been classified as ‘Severe’ meaning if they do not receive adequate nutrition by Christmas their prospects of survival significantly diminish.
ChildFund is on the ground in Kenya helping families obtain critical food, water, and supplies. They do this by providing families with cash transfers so they can buy milk, food and other important supplies they require. Supporting these families with cash transfers offers them the opportunity to make decisions for themselves and raise their children in a dignified way.
Click here for vision of ChildFund in Africa – Kabale’s Story
Click here for vision of ChildFund in Africa – Drought
This year on International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, the UN have themed the day ‘Dignity For All in Practice’. While ChildFund know that the crisis in the Horn of Africa is expected to worsen they believe that supporting these families with cash transfers provides them dignity and hope for a better future.
Margaret Sheehan Chief Executive Officer of ChildFund Australia has stressed the need for rapid response and is committed to delivering the funds that families need.
“We’re strong believers in ‘Dignity for All’, when we interact with effected communities, we want people to feel empowered to make decisions and choices that are right for them,” said Ms Sheehan.
“ChildFund is committed to working on the ground with the most vulnerable families to ensure that they have access to immediate direct cash transfers.”
“Evidence shows that cash transfers improve food security at the household and community level and can have positive impacts on the health, nutrition, and care of children. Our programs puts decision making back into the hands of parents of families experiencing high levels of distress and disruption, enabling families to recover faster and children to return to education and their daily routine.”
Anyone interested in donating to ChildFund and supporting their efforts to alleviate poverty in the Horn of Africa please head to /appeals/hunger-crisis/
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MEDIA: Spokespeople, are available for interview.
For all media enquiries, please contact:
Jonathan Sweet
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[1]IPC International Food Security Phase Classification, “Kenya – ASAL – IPC Acute Food Insecurity and Acute Malnutrition Analysis”, 28 September 2022