ONE DOT ORG | Horn of Africa crisis: What you can do to help

Horn of Africa crisis: What you can do to help

Aug 3rd, 2011 7:52 PM UTC
By Margaret McDonnell

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UPDATED, AUGUST 4: There is an immediate need for additional funding to address the famine in Somalia and wider food crisis in the Horn. ONE is actively addressing the crisis in two ways: by raising awareness of the famine and needed response through social and traditional media, and by pressing world leaders to step up and quickly fill the $1 billion funding gap for emergency assistance. We need your help – and your voice – on both fronts.

Children play outside makeshift shelters in Mogadishu. Photo credit: Phil Moore/Concern Worldwide

We also know that many people want to make personal financial contributions to assist in the famine relief. While ONE doesn’t raise money from the public, there are a number of other organizations that are doing effective work on the ground in the Horn and who are actively soliciting donations. We have pulled together the following list of organizations so that you can learn more about them and consider making a donation.

International Organizations:

International Committee of the Red Cross: The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is scaling up its emergency operation in central and southern Somalia to assist an additional 1.1 million drought- and conflict-affected people.

UNICEF: This is a child survival crisis. UNICEF is massively scaling up relief efforts to save children’s lives and protect their futures. UNICEF delivers therapeutic foods to treat children suffering from severe malnutrition; provides vaccinations to fight deadly and disabling diseases like measles and polio that threaten malnourished children; improves access to clean water and proper sanitation; supports basic education in communities and camps; and establishes measures to protect children from violence, exploitation, and abuse.

World Food Program: World Food Programme is planning to feed over 11. 5 million people affected by drought across the Horn of Africa. That includes 3.7 million people in Somalia, 3.5 million people in Ethiopia and 2.7 million people in Kenya, in addition to 226,000 refugees in Ethiopia and 496,000 refugees in Kenya.

German NGOs:

Gemeinsam für Afrika: Gemeinsam für Afrika (“United for Africa”) is a coalition consisting of 23 humanitarian and development organisations. (English version available)

Aktion Deutschland hilft: Aktion Deutschland hilft (“Action Germany helps”) is a union of 11 German relief organizations that provide rapid and effective aid in the case of large catastrophes and emergency situations abroad. (English version available)

United Kingdom NGOs:

Disasters Emergency Committee: The Disasters Emergency Committee unites the 14 leading UK aid agencies in their efforts to finance relief for people suffering major disasters in poorer countries.

U.S. NGO Partners:

American Refugee Committee: The ARC’s team in Mogadishu is working closely with local organizations to respond to the crisis. Our goal is to provide immediate lifesaving relief – including food and water and sanitation needs – to support the survival of families affected by the famine. ARC distributed food packages, bedding, utensils and soap to over 400 families. With a team of experienced staff in place, and an ongoing partnership with the Somali-American community, ARC is well positioned to coordinate rapid emergency response in affected areas of Somalia.

CARE: CARE is helping more than one million people in Ethiopia, Somalia, and Kenya. In Dadaab, CARE is the primary distributor of food, water and education. In Ethiopia, CARE supports emergency nutrition programs, livestock operations, and water and sanitation. In Somalia, CARE is rehabilitating water harvesting structures and operating cash-for-work programs. CARE has more than six decades of experience delivering emergency aid during times of crisis with a focus on the most vulnerable populations, particularly girls and women.

Catholic Relief Services: In Ethiopia, CRS is expanding its food distribution program to 1.1 million beneficiaries and is working closely with local partners to provide livelihood support, water, and sanitation. In Somalia, CRS is supporting local partners to assist highly vulnerable, displaced families with basic necessities, such as food packages, support to clinics, therapeutic feeding, and shelter. In Kenya, CRS is working both to assist newly arrived refugees with hygiene, sanitation promotion, and protection, and also to provide water, sanitation, and supplemental feeding to drought-affected Kenyan communities.

Concern Worldwide: Working in the region for over 25 years, Concern Worldwide has long-term development programs in many affected areas in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia, and launched an immediate response to the drought emergency at its onset in late 2010. Concern is directly reaching over 400,000 people in the Horn of Africa region with clean water, food and interventions to treat and prevent malnutrition. For instance, in Somalia, Concern and its local partners are reaching over 100,000 people in worst-affected areas there.

International Rescue Committee: The IRC runs medical services at one of Dadaab’s three camps, providing lifesaving care for thousands of Somali refugees, including many suffering from acute malnutrition. The IRC provides a range of medical, protection & counseling services to refugee women and girls who have been sexually assaulted. In Ethiopia, the IRC is installing or expanding water-supply systems in camps that serve 82,000 Somali refugees. In central Somalia, the IRC is ensuring access to water for 32,000 people.

Islamic Relief: Islamic Relief Worldwide has provided emergency drought response in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia, including three districts in Puntland, Somalia. This response has led to the successful delivery of 7 liters of water a day to 35,406 for a period of one month and the provision of essential primary healthcare services to an additional 1,322 women and children.

Mercy Corps: Mercy Corps’ teams in Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya are responding, by distributing food and water and expanding critical relief efforts. Mercy Corps is on the ground helping more than 900,000 people in the region survive, and we are ramping up to help even more.

Oxfam America: Oxfam America is responding to the crisis by providing life-saving water, sanitation services, food, and cash with the goal of reaching 3 million people, including 700,000 in Ethiopia, 1.3 million in Kenya, and 500,000 in Somalia.

Save the Children: Save the Children has launched a major humanitarian response in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia, feeding tens of thousands of underweight children, providing life-saving medical treatment, and getting clean water to remote communities. Save is also helping communities adapt to more frequent droughts, reducing the number of children at risk in any future food crises.

World Concern: World Concern is providing emergency food, water and supplies to approximately 10,000 of the most vulnerable and underserved people affected by the famine in a cross-border response in Kenya and southern Somalia.

World Vision: World Vision is distributing emergency food, water and health care and meeting other urgent needs for children and families.

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