A new public service announement campaign to spread awareness of the crisis in the Horn of Africa is being launched this week by the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Ad Council. The multimedia campaign is called “FWD”– for famine, war and drought — to encourage people to “FWD” the message to their friends.
The effort asks Americans to support humanitarian organizations with relief operations and to learn more about solutions through USAID’s Feed the Future global initiative to combat hunger and provide food security.
The Horn of Africa is suffering from the worst drought it’s seen in six decades, which combined with other factors has resulted in famine. More than 13 million people across the eastern Horn of Africa now need emergency assistance to survive, and tens of thousands of people have died. However, according to a national survey released today by the Ad Council and conducted online by Harris Interactive among 2,226 U.S. adults age 18 and older in September, 52% of the general public say that they have not seen, heard, or read anything about the drought and famine.
To learn more see: http://www.usaid.gov/fwd/