Dear diocesan colleagues,
I just wanted to inform you that Development and Peace has launched an appeal for the hunger crisis in sub-Saharan Africa.
As you are probably aware, the combined effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, droughts, floods, civil conflicts, political instabilities and the food shortages now caused by the ward in Ukraine have left 50 million people “teetering on the edge of famine.” Needless to say, this is an urgent situation that merits an immediate and generous response.
That is why, as members of the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, we have joined the Humanitarian Coalition’s Hunger Crisis appeal. Until July 17, all donations for this crisis will be matched dollar for dollar (up to a maximum of $ 5 million) by the Government of Canada.
We have published an article about this on our website and sent out an email appeal.
Please do all you can to support and promote this important and urgent appeal by spreading the word in your dioceses. Thank you for your support.
In solidarity,
Minaz
As many as 828 million people go to bed hungry every night. The number facing acute hunger has soared from 135 million to 345 million since 2019. A total of 50 million people in 45 countries are teetering on the edge of famine. The World Food Programme (WFP) requires US$22.2 billion to reach 152 million people in 1922. It calls for everyone to step up.
It’s amazing that it only takes $15.00 to feed a child in Africa for a month, according to a statistic I saw. That means, with matching dollars the child is fed for 2 months. It is also said that 90% of Africa’s children are not meeting the criteria for a minimal acceptable diet set by the World Health Organization. The worst hit countries are: Somalia, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Weather conditions and the disruption in food supply from Ukraine continue to aggravate the crisis in certain regions, especially the Horn of Africa.