Prime Minister receives 44,000 postcards for World Food Day

16 October 2007

Leading aid agency, CARE International, will today deliver a message to Gordon Brown from 44,000 people, demanding action to end preventable emergencies and save lives in Africa. Each person has signed a postcard adding their voice to CARE’s concerns that the international aid system is failing to adequately address chronic hunger across Africa.

The postcards demand that instead of waiting for the next emergency to hit the headlines, we should be working NOW to help those vulnerable to earn money, protect themselves and to end the cycle of emergencies. 

Research by CARE in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa, just two years after food emergencies, warns that the same people will be hit by emergency again in the near future, unless the aid effort is transformed.

“The UK Government has already taken some welcome steps, committing 10 percent of funding for each emergency to prepare for and mitigate the impact of future disasters, and increasing its work in the Sahel region of Africa. However there is still much to be done,” said Vanessa Rubin, Africa Hunger Advisor, CARE International UK. “The UK Government must influence other donors and global institutions, such as the UN and EC to prevent and respond to hunger across Africa in a more timely and appropriate way.”

CARE estimates that by 2020 the world will have spent more than £165 billion this century fighting emergencies in Africa. Yet it has been estimated that just £132 billion, if spent differently, could instead have halved hunger by 2015. 

“We know that more than two-thirds of British citizens would rather give money in advance of an emergency to prevent it than donate after the event. And I’m really encouraged that so many people have supported this appeal to the Prime Minister. The public are willing to do their bit.  Now we must see the Government, and the broader international community, do theirs,” said Geoffrey Dennis, CEO, CARE International UK.

About CARE International: CARE is one of the world’s largest aid agencies, working in 70 countries to fight poverty and helping more than 55 million people every year. Our long-term programmes tackle the deep-seated causes of poverty and we are always among the first to respond when disaster strikes. We remain with communities to help them rebuild their lives long after the cameras have gone. www.careinternational.org.uk

For more information or interviews, please contact:

Amber Meikle, meikle@careinternational.org, 0207 934 9348