President Obama Announces $113 Million In Aid For Horn of Africa

Hailing the holidays as "a season of giving and renewal," and calling the ongoing famine from the drought in the Horn of Africa "heartbreaking," President Obama today announced $113 million in emergency relief aid to provide "urgently needed food, health, shelter, water and assistance needs" to Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia. It follows the government's previous expenditure of $870 million for relief purposes.

"The heartbreaking accounts of lives lost and of those struggling to survive remind us of our common humanity and the need to reach out to people in need," President Obama said.

He noted that the famine comes "amid the worst drought the region has seen in 60 years." The latest United Nations data of the impact of the famine show that between 50,000 and 100,000 people may have died across the Horn of Africa since April, with more than half of these children under the age of five.

The US emergency relief funding is in addition to the federal government's work to retool the agriculture economy in the Horn of Africa, through the U.S. Agency for International Development's Feed the Future campaign, the President said.

"Even as we help to meet the emergency needs of the people of this region, we are also investing in their long-term food security," President Obama said.

The President urged Americans to get involved with relief efforts through USAID's social media FWD Campaign.

"To learn more about how you can get involved, please visit http://action.usaid.gov/," he said.

*Photo by Davie Lienemann/White House

Today IS "FWD Day" For The Horn Of Africa

USAID, Ad Council launch campaign to raise awareness and relief funds...
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Ad Council have dubbed today as "FWD Day for the Horn of Africa." The goal is to get 13.3 million FWDs (tweets, posts, shares, etc. on social media such as YouTube and Twitter) for the 13.3 million people affected by the ongoing famine. There's also a donation element, through phone text messaging. Click here to read USAID's blog post about today's effort.

From USAID's press release:

The Horn of Africa is currently experiencing the worst drought in 60 years, the worst famine in 20, and non-stop violence. The total number of people impacted, 13.3 million, is greater than the populations of New York City and Los Angeles combined.

In a recent survey conducted, nearly 60% of Americans said they did not know about or were unaware of the crisis. In response, USAID, in partnership with Ad Council, launched its first-ever public awareness campaign, FWD (Famine. War. Drought.), to galvanize a nationwide effort to get more people involved in providing relief to those affected.

Today, Americans can make a big difference by taking part in FWD Day by spreading awareness and ensuring that the crisis no longer goes overlooked. People can participate in FWD Day by:

(1) Tweeting with the #FWD hash-tag, sharing updates from the USAID Facebook page and telling people about www.usaid.gov/FWD.

(2) Texting "GIVE" to 777444 to donate $10 to a consortium of 8 NGOs working in the Horn of Africa.

(3) Visiting USAID's YouTube channel and upload your own FWD call to action.

For more information about USAID and the FWD Campaign visit www.usaid.gov/FWD.
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Biden Marks 50th Anniversary Of USAID

Video: Vice President gives keynote at DC celebration...
Vice President Joe Biden this morning delivered the keynote remarks at the United States Agency for International Development’s 50th Anniversary Commemoration, held at the Mellon Auditorium in Washington, DC. Part of the State Department, USAID was created by President John F. Kennedy in 1961, and is now led by administrator Rajiv Shah. The two major initiatives launched by the Obama Administration are Feeding the Future to combat global hunger, and the Global Health Initiative to address health issues including HIV/AIDS, malaria and child/newborn health. There is currently a special component devoted to the famine in the Horn of Africa.

Biden's son, Hunter Biden, recently became chair of the World Food Program.

"We can't help them all but we can do something and it is the right thing to do," Biden said.

Check out the anniversary website here.


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