USAID puts the spotlight on the Horn of Africa in new campaign

Oct 26th, 2011 9:25 AM UTC
By Malaka Gharib

Today, USAID launches FWD, a public awareness campaign to elevate the profile of the crisis in the Horn of Africa. The title is an acronym for famine, war and drought — three devastating problems that are threatening millions of lives in Eastern Africa right now.

The concept of the campaign is simple: use social media to forward facts about the crisis to your online networks. Why? Because 52 percent of the general public say that they have not heard or seen anything about the famine in the Horn of Africa. It’s a shocking figure, but by sharing what we know with others, we can help bring this number down — and in turn, inspire more Americans to take action against this catastrophic situation.

At 12:30 EDT today, USAID Administrator Raj Shah will be answering your questions about the crisis in a live webcast. Send your questions to him via Twitter and Facebook, and feel free to ask him about the new campaign, too.

As the campaign says, we are a country “founded on values of justice, opportunity and compassion,” and “when we witness suffering on such a massive scale, Americans are stirred to act.” So, do your part as an American and take action against the famine: FWD a fact on to a friend.

TAGS: Fight the Famine, Horn of Africa, ONE, USAID