UNICEF takes Bob Geldof back to Ethiopia

Twenty years later, UNICEF takes Bob Geldof back to Ethiopia

GENEVA / NEW YORK, 26 May 2003 -- Musician and activist Bob Geldof will return to Ethiopia with UNICEF next week for the first time since his landmark visit to the drought-stricken country 20 years ago.

Ethiopia is in the midst of a severe humanitarian emergency that is threatening some 14 million people, most of them children. Drought, flood, malnutrition, disease among children and HIV/AIDS are all part of the complex crisis. Ethiopia is also one of the five poorest countries in the world, with an estimated gross national income of just $100 a year per person. The five-day UNICEF visit will begin in Addis Ababa on Tuesday 27 May. Geldof will see firsthand the challenges the country faces today, 20 years after he first visited Ethiopia and launched a world-wide campaign to save the East African nation from famine.

Geldof's visit, facilitated by the UNICEF office in Ethiopia, will enable him to witness the current humanitarian crisis and explore the longer-term development challenges that are compounded by debt and trade disadvantages. He will visit UNICEF relief projects for children, speak with government officials and members of the diplomatic community, and meet with other key humanitarian players.

"What we have here is a much more complex emergency than the drought crisis of twenty years ago," said Bjorn Ljungqvuist, UNICEF Representative in Ethiopia. "This time it is compounded by HIV/AIDS, which has weakened medical systems and coping ability at the family level. UNICEF is grateful for Bob Geldof's visit right now because it will help draw global attention to the new mix of challenges we must overcome to build a more peaceful, stable world - a world that is truly fit for children." UNICEF said that one out of two children in Ethiopia suffers from chronic stunting, and many children die from preventable diseases. The visit will include stops at UNICEF-supported therapeutic feeding centres in the south of the country and focus not only on immediate needs but on the longer-term solutions needed. Mr. Geldof will also visit water projects and AIDS counselling centres for youth, where he will meet with the young Ethiopians at the forefront of tackling HIV.

All media are welcome to attend a press conference with Sir Bob Geldof and Bjorn Ljungqvist, UNICEF Representative, at 4pm on Tuesday 27 May in briefing room N122 at the ECA in Addis Ababa.

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