UNITED Nations (UN) agencies based here in Guyana have collectively launched a campaign to raise funds in aid of the more than 13 million people ravaged by hunger in the drought-ridden and famine-stricken Horn of Africa. Countries in the region at reference, located in the easternmost reaches of the continent of Africa, comprise mainly  Ethiopia, Somalia, Eritrea and Djibouti, but can on occasion include Kenya, Tanzania and Sudan.
The UN campaign, which coincides with the commemoration of the founding of the United Nations, which turned 66 on October 24, will run until next Tuesday.
According to a release from the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) local mission, “… more than 13 million people in the Horn of Africa are in desperate need of food assistance. Countless lives, accordingly, hang in the balance. Over four (4) million people, or more than half the population of South Somalia, are in need of food relief, due to drought, conflict, and high food prices.”
In its bid to help alleviate the situation, the agency is open to receiving cash and cheque donations at its 42 Brickdam and United Nations Place offices here in the city between 9:00 hrs and 16:30 hrs from Monday through Thursday, and between 9:00 hrs and 14:00 hrs on Friday.
Funds raised during the drive, it says, will be transferred to the United Nations World Food Programme and UNICEF, to expand emergency relief operations.