It breaks my heart to write to you today with an urgent appeal for the children of East Africa.  Nearly two million of them under the age of five are at risk of death and disease, because of a deadly combination of drought, conflict and escalating food prices.

The situation in East Africa is getting worse every day.  As well as the ongoing conflicts in the region, the area has had two failed rainy seasons in a row, leading to the driest year since the 1950s in many parts.

We need your help to reach these children before the emergency deteriorates any further. Our priority is children’s survival. Your donation can help us save thousands of lives.


€30 can provide a child with a month’s supply of Plumpy’Nut – a vitamin-rich peanut paste that has been specially developed to treat acutely malnourished children
€55 can provide 1000 sachets of Oral Rehydration Salts to help children combat dehydration.

UNICEF is there for children

Many children are already extremely malnourished by the time they arrive for support at refugee centres. They need urgent action and your support can help us save lives. As well as treating malnourished children, UNICEF is ensuring that supplies of clean drinking water are available, providing immunisation and ensuring access to proper sanitation in the region.

Even though crops are failing, livestock is dying, there is little by way of clean water and thousands of people are flocking to refugee centres such as Dadaab, UNICEF has the experience and skills to help children as efficiently and effectively as possible.

We can save thousands of lives in the coming weeks, but only if we have the necessary resources.

Please don’t wait.

Make your emergency donation now and help us provide whatever it takes to keep these children alive. And since UNICEF operations are entirely funded by voluntary donations – every Euro we raise makes a difference and can help save a child’s life.

Please give what you can today.

Melanie Verwoerd
Executive Director

UNICEF’s work in the East Africa region includes:

• Providing ready to use therapeutic food to over 34,000 severely malnourished children and ensuring access to water and sanitation for over 280,000 people in Ethiopia.
• Helping provide health services to nearly 900,000 people in Somalia, as well as supporting feeding programmes for over 70,000 malnourished Somali children.
• Providing access to water and sanitation for one million people in Somalia.
• Helping to treat over 12,000 malnourished children in Kenya.

PS. Thank you for your continued support of UNICEF. Please don’t underestimate the difference you make with every donation.