Rich nations urged to do more to fight hunger
US first lady Jill Biden has called on international partners to step up their contribution to provide relief to millions of people grappling with hunger in Kenya and across the Horn of Africa.
Following her interactions with locals in Lositeti village, Kajiado County, during her three-day visit in Kenya, Dr Biden said she comprehended the severity of Kenya’s worst drought in half a century.
“The United States is providing 70 percent of the money that’s coming into these regions, but we cannot be the only ones. We need to have other countries join in this global effort to help the people of this region,” she said.
The first lady noted that the situation in the Horn of Africa is as deserving of international attention as the war in Ukraine or the earthquake in Turkey because “here, people [and livestock] are actually starving.”
“In this area, they talked about how their livestock are dying. Obviously, you can see the drought here, how bad it is. The one source of water here feeds 12 villages and each village has approximately 1,000 to 1200 people… they’re having a hard time. Their children are malnourished, they cannot feed their children, they cannot afford to send their children to schools,” she added.
US Ambassador to Kenya Meg Whitman also reiterated Dr Biden’s call for further international action to the cause. “Dr Biden, thank you for coming to this region to highlight the issues that many people know about intellectually, but it’s just different when you see it,” said the Ambassador.
