Famine Relief Fund

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

“Over 20 million men, women and children are at risk of starvation if we do not act now. Canadians have always demonstrated great compassion when it comes to humanitarian crises. I encourage all Canadians to donate to the registered Canadian charities of their choice. Together, we can make a difference and bring relief to people who need urgent help.”
- Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie

MILLIONS OF CHILDREN AT RISK OF STARVATION

In northeast Nigeria, Niger, Somalia, Ethiopia, and South Sudan, severe drought and intensifying conflict have left over 20 million people at risk of starvation. Millions of those threatened by famine are children.

The Government of Canada is responding to this crisis by supporting humanitarian partners like SOS Children’s Villages, and is helping Canadians to take action against the famine through the Famine Relief Fund.

Every donation made by individuals to the Famine Relief Fund through SOS Children’s Villages Canada until June 30, 2017, will be matched by the Government of Canada.

 

Ali Adan, a nurse from the paediatric unit at the SOS Children's Villages hospital in in Mogadishu, examines children at a camp for internally displaced people near the capital. Photo by SOS Somalia staff

OFFERING LIFE-SAVING SUPPORT WHERE NEEDED MOST

SOS Children’s Villages is taking a lead role to provide child protection, health and nutrition and critical Non-food item (NFI) assistance to more than 160,000 vulnerable women and children affected by the crisis in the region, by 2018.

In consultation with members of the affected community, and in coordination with other humanitarian organizations, SOS is addressing key needs in the most severely impacted communities in the region.

SOS Children’s Villages is committed to:

Addressing Protection & Psychosocial Support Needs

Addressing Protection & Psychosocial Support Needs:

  • Child Friendly Spaces – Offering children safe places to play, and psychosocial support and protection for child victims of gender-based violence, abuse and exploitation.
  • Identifying, Documenting, Tracing and Reunifying unaccompanied and separated children, in collaboration with local partners.
  • Educational Assistance – Providing informal educational activities to children, and offering training to teachers on psycho-social approaches.
Addressing Health & Nutrition Needs

Addressing Health & Nutrition Needs:

  • Provision of Nutrition assistance – Screening and treating cases of malnutrition amongst vulnerable populations.
  • Heath assistance – Building the capacity of local health facilities, setting up mobile health clinics in IDP camp sites, and promoting UNICEF’s best practices for infant and child feeding in an emergency.
Addressing Need for NFI Support

Addressing Need for NFI Support: 

  • Sudden on-set emergency support – Providing non-food items to the most vulnerable children and women-headed households, including blankets, mats, clothing, covered pots and tarpaulins, alleviating suffering and maintaining the human dignity of crisis affected populations.
Infant suffering from malnutrition in Niger
A young patient at the Diffa Centre for Outpatient Nutritional Rehabilitation for Malnutrition
 
Mother caring for her child suffering malnutrition
A mother and her malnourished daughter at the Diffa Center for Outpatient Nutritional Rehabilitation for Malnutrition (CRENAS), Niger.

 

 

Government of Canada
Program undertaken with the financial support of the Government of Canada provided through Global Affairs Canada