Pick of the week: ACT FOR AFRICA
Photo: African artists and activists call for social media to end continent’s famine
In the Horn of Africa, 250,000 Somalis still face starvation. According to the European Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva, there is also the likelihood of a serious food crisis developing in West Africa, including in Nigeria, Mali and Mauritania. For this pick of the week, Channel 16 brings you news of the #lastfamine campaign, run by the coalition Africans Act 4 Africa who are trying to make this year (2011) the last time that hunger on such a scale is suffered by people anywhere in the world.
1. Africans Act 4 Africa
Africans Act 4 Africa was launched on 15 August to push African governments to commit more of their resources to the ongoing food crisis.
Today millions of people across the Horn of Africa continue to face severe hunger. On Saturday 10 December – International Human Rights Day – hundreds of African activists, celebrities and citizens will be calling on African governments to ACT NOW and make sure that this is Africa’s #lastfamine. Tackling spiralling food prices and supporting local food production are just some of the ways that this can happen.
JOIN the #lastfamine TWITTER CAMPAIGN on Saturday by:
- Making #lastfamine the trending twitter topic on 10th December 2011
- Raising the volume on the calls for solutions that will guarantee the right to food for all Africans.
- Askng African leaders to:
- Put the food security issue on the agenda at the African Union Summit in January 2012
- Sign the Charter to End Extreme Hunger and do all they can to make this the last famine in Africa
- Tweet: @SAPresident, @presgoodluck, @jmkikwete, @odinga_raila @PaulKagame, @KagutaMuseveni, @michaelsata, @presidencyghana, @ArmandoGuebuza, @MeAbdouLayeWade, @President_RDC, @PaulBiya @_AfricanUnion andothers.
2. ’NOOR images‘
Jan Grarup, a photographer based in Copenhagen and co-founder of NOOR images, has taken incredible images in the Horn of Africa that serve as a reminder of why the Africans Act 4 Africa campaign is necessary, but also underline the unbelievable resilience of the refugees still suffering the worst effects of food crisis. See these images here.