* Any views expressed in this article are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
MORE than one million people have been helped across East Africa by Plan International as the first anniversary of the food crisis approaches.
The children’s charity raised nearly £13 million and reached 1.1 million with aid, more than it anticipated when the appeal was launched last July.
Its appeal set out to assist families across the region after poor rains had wiped out crops and decimated livestock herds.
Plan aimed to identify and to reach the most vulnerable groups who were identified as children, lactating and pregnant women and the elderly and sick.
Huge numbers of children were malnourished because of low food stocks and poor child nutrition awareness.
Part of Plan’s intervention focussed on Ethiopia, where 280,000 people were reached with food, water, health and livelihood work.
“The hardships brought about by the drought have had serious impact on children, in particular girls,” says Plan’s regional director, Gezahegn Kebede.
Part of Plan’s work has focussed on helping families prepare for future emergencies and reducing the impact on children psychologically.
This includes continuing long-term re-establishment of livelihoods , water and sanitation work, along with child protection projects.
“We are now focusing on emergency recovery work such as water and sanitation, food security and livelihood interventions that have wider impact on the lives of children and their families,” adds Mr Kebede.
For more information on Plan’s work or to make a donation visit www.plan-uk.org
