World Faces Worst Humanitarian Crisis Since 1945, UN Official
The fear of famine gripped us in February 2017, when Context TV discussed the UN warning about atrocities being committed in South Sudan. We heard a warning that a lack of action from the international community could lead to a genocide; which is why I was perturbed to recently read the headline, “‘They are killing civilians house to house’: Crowded UN camp filled with horror stories”.
The situation in South Sudan has continued to worsen since our program in February, as government troops have intensified their attacks on civilians, and ethnic conflict has grown. Adding to this crisis, families, and these families would be as connected to their siblings as you and I feel to ours, those kind families are now facing famine. As people have been forced to flee for their lives, the ability to grow food has greatly decreased and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that roughly half the population of South Sudan, or 5 million people, are at risk of food insecurity.
Sadly, South Sudan is but one of four African nations on the brink of catastrophic famine. Nigeria, Somalia, and Yemen are also facing severe famine, over 20 million people in the four countries are at risk of starvation.
Molly Thomas traveled to Somalia for Context TV in partnership with World Vision to report on the drought and famine there. Molly interviewed the National Director of World Vision Somalia who stated, “If we don’t intervene now, we are looking at a possibility of 430,000 deaths.” Molly also spoke with a 60-year-old grandmother who was forced to trek over 100km just to find water. These are just some of the realities of the harsh realities of famine.
While the reason for famine differs from country to country, Nigeria, Yemen, South Sudan, and Somalia are all facing unimaginable circumstances and they need our help. The UN calls the four-country famine the worst humanitarian crisis since 1945 – children need relief from starvation. Your donations to our partner, World Vision, will make a difference. RAW HOPE is the World Vision initiative that is working with the UN’s World Food Program to get food for kids into Somalia and South Sudan. Please call 1-865 595 5550 or visit rawhope.ca to make a donation. To make a difference in Nigeria and Yemen, please donate to the UN’s World Food Program by visiting http://cdn.wfp.org/donate/ .
Thank you for making a difference.
To learn more about the crisis in South Sudan and Somalia, watch our episodes below:
