Faiths Act

Recently ONE launched a new public service announcement calling attention to the famine in the Horn of Africa. In the past three months, 30,000 children have died due to lack of food security. That number is only increasing.

This is horrifying news. While it may be controversial, ONE points out that famine is the new F word - an obscenity that we need to do something about. We can no longer ignore mothers who are having to choose which children to save, and which to let die. It is a grim reality.

So what does famine have to do with malaria?  Access to food and clean water is vital to the health and success of communities around the world. When children are undernourished, they are at a greater risk of contracting malaria and other preventable diseases. Moreover, their immune systems become significantly compromised.

Famine has the power to break down societies. With children unable to attend school and parents unable to work and provide for their families, the downward spiral of poverty wreaks havoc on all sectors of the community. This is what we have seen in the Horn of Africa. It’s not the first time, but it can be the last.

There is always a way to contribute. Whether you donate, serve, or lend your voice to help the world’s poorest, it has an impact.  If you believe that faith can be a force for good in upholding the promises of the Millennium Development Goals, we urge you to join the Faiths Act Movement, and work with us this year.

Adeela Tajdar and Carolyn Worthge, Faiths Act Fellows