‘Overwhelming’ New Zealand public response to East Africa crisis tops $2 million

A coalition of New Zealand’s leading international aid and relief agencies are delivering a collective ‘thank you’ to the nation, after public donations to relieve the devastating food crisis in East Africa topped $2 million in 2017.

“The New Zealand public’s overwhelming generosity in response to this crisis has defied the most optimistic expectations,” said Darren Brunk, Humanitarian Coordinator at the Council for International Development (CID), a New Zealand advocacy body. “New Zealand NGOs set a fundraising goal of $1.6 million by year’s end. Only six months into 2017, Kiwis have already given $2.3 million, blowing our most optimistic targets out of the water.”

The government has chipped in too, matching the first $1.2 million in public donations to New Zealand relief agencies; part of the government’s $7 million aid package to the region.

“Each dollar that Kiwis have donated to New Zealand aid agencies has generated nearly fifty cents more from the government,” said Brunk.

“The best part is, these resources are making a very real difference in the lives of people living in crisis across East Africa.”

25 million people across East Africa are in desperate need of assistance, including in Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan and Uganda. At the heart of the crisis is South Sudan, a country where violent civil war and severe drought have claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced over 3.5 million.

A coalition of New Zealand’s leading aid agencies are acting in concert to save lives across the region, using public donations to deliver vital assistance to tens of thousands. Responding agencies include ADRA, Caritas, CWS, World Vision, UNICEF NZ, ChildFund, Save the Children, Oxfam and Tearfund.

These agencies are turning NZ support into tangible impacts, like:

• World Vision New Zealand, who is providing food security, water and sanitation for nearly 20,000 South Sudanese displaced by war and ongoing fighting.

• UNICEF NZ, who with its global UNICEF partners has treated 79,898 South Sudanese children with severe acute malnutrition.

• Save the Children NZ, who has reached over 13,333 people in the most severe drought-affected areas of Ethiopia through its water trucking programme.

• Tearfund NZ who is serving 61,000 South Sudanese refugees who have fled civil conflict in their home country to neighbouring Uganda, delivering emergency water supplies to both refugees and their host communities.

• Caritas NZ and ChildFund NZ, who have teamed up to deliver needed emergency supplies through local church networks to some of the most remote communities in Turkana, northern Kenya.

“New Zealand donations are saving lives, but the crisis isn’t over.” says Brunk. “The drought is still on, and violence continues to disrupt lives and communities in South Sudan, Somalia and elsewhere.”

To learn more about joining New Zealand’s generous response to the East Africa crisis and the New Zealand agencies you can support, visit the Council for International Development website at www.cid.org.nz.

ENDS

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