New survey shows British public want media to highlight food crises earlier and for longer

15 August 2007

And almost three-quarters (74%) think that it is the media’s responsibility to inform them about emergencies earlier, so that they can do so.

The survey also reveals that 67 per cent of people want to be told more about what happens in the long-term to those people hit by an emergency.

Alastair Stewart, newscaster and patron of CARE International UK, said “news editors must sit up and listen to what the public want to hear about. The media has a responsibility to look for new ways of reporting emergencies, particularly food crises, before they reach their peak and after.  Not only for the public who demand it, but for the children and families that this will help to shelter from the worst effects of emergency – deepened poverty and death.”

Evidence from CARE’s work in 24 countries in Africa shows that the public’s desire to know about and give money to emergencies earlier is good news for the poor. Early action, to help people to keep their animals alive and prevent the sale of essential belongings, followed up with long-term programmes to help people recover, is crucial to ending the vicious cycle of emergency that traps 120 million of the world’s poorest people.

According to the survey, news and current affairs reports are the second largest motivator to donate to an emergency, after fundraising by friends and colleagues. 

“It is heartening that people want to know about and understand emergencies”, said Carol Monoyios, marketing director of CARE International UK. “This survey reveals the crucial role of the media in finding ways to satisfy this public interest, and of aid agencies in encouraging action.”

In 2005 and 2006 emergencies in the Horn of Africa, southern Africa and west Africa left 35 million people facing starvation, at a conservative estimate. Today, according to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network, there are four food emergencies, all in Africa. 

Climate change, the HIV pandemic and population growth are all contributing to a trend of increasingly frequent and severe emergencies.  For this to be reversed, the long-term nature of food crises must be at the heart of all responses. That means ending the world’s record of funding late, short-term and inappropriate responses.

“This research proves that the public are willing to do their bit.  What we need now, is the media, governments, aid agencies and the international community, to do theirs, said Vanessa Rubin, CARE International UK’s Africa hunger advisor. “An overhaul of the entire aid system is required to end the needless and repeated suffering of 120 million people constantly living on the edge of emergency in Africa.”

About CARE International: CARE is one of the world’s largest aid agencies, working in 70 countries to fight poverty and helping more than 48 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. For more information, visit www.careinternational.org.uk

For more information, interviews, pictures or footage, please contact:

Amber Meikle, senior press officer, meikle@careinternational.org, 0207 934 9348, 07867 58879

Notes to editors:

Data collection dates: 13th - 15th April, 2007

Sample: 1003 nationally representative adults aged 16+ in Great Britain

Data collection: Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing

Research conducted by BMRB Omnibus Surveys