… grants $20M in famine relief
PRESIDENT Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday expressed his alarm at the unfolding famine in the Horn of Africa, and emphasised his distress at the images of children caught in the ravages of the devastating drought in Eastern Africa. The president also announced that his government will be making famine relief of US$100,000, equivalent to G$20M, immediately available to the people of the affected areas, as a measure intended to help bring some comfort to them.
According to the United Nations, some 12 million people are caught in the drought. The resultant famine conditions are exacerbated by limited health care facilities, and weak water and sanitation infrastructure, with attendant threats of diseases such as cholera.
The Guyanese president said, “It is impossible not to be moved by the distressing images of innocent children suffering helplessly at the hands of a natural disaster on this scale.”
“The hearts, minds, and thoughts of all Guyanese people are with our brothers and sisters in East Africa. We pray that relief comes to them in the shortest possible time,” President Jagdeo added.
The president also called on the global community to galvanise itself into a full response with the greatest urgency, so that the unfolding human disaster can be averted.