On Wednesday 2 November 2011, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will be making a special visit to our Emergency Supply Centre in Copenhagen, to help put the global spotlight back onto the humanitarian crisis in East Africa.
Right now, children across East Africa are facing a desperate crisis caused by drought, high food prices and ongoing conflict in Somalia. Over 320,000 children are so severely malnourished that they are at imminent risk of starving to death without urgent help.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will be accompanied on the visit by The Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Denmark. Their Royal Highnesses will seek to raise awareness of the crisis in East Africa to help millions of children at risk.
UNICEF's Supply Centre has a warehouse the size of three football pitches. It sources, packs and distributes essential supplies for children around the globe, including food, water, special nutritional supplies for the most malnourished children, vaccines and emergency medical kits.
The Irish public has been hugely generous in their response to news of the devastating crisis unfolding in East Africa, and life-saving supplies are getting through to children and families affected.
So far, UNICEF has delivered more than 10,000 metric tonnes of supplies to the region, treated 108,000 severely malnourished children in therapeutic feeding centres, vaccinated 1.2 million children against measles and provided 2.2 million people with access to safe water.
