In September 2011, two months after famine was officially declared in the Horn of Africa by the United Nations, Freelance journalist Abdi Aziiz Abdi Nur was in the southern region of Somalia—the hardest-hit area. He reports on what he experienced then, and how now—almost a year later— the situation has changed. He also meets up with five-year-old Abdi again, who was being treated for severe malnutrition when Nur first met him last year.

One year ago, a humanitarian crisis was taking place in the Horn of Africa. Two million children were at the risk of dying of starvation, and on July 20, 2011 the United Nations declared famine in parts of Somalia. Thanks to the generous support from donors and sponsors, 1 million children have been treated for malnutrition in the region.
On this anniversary we wanted to go beyond just the numbers and get a more personal perspective on the situation. So I sat down with Lisa Szarkowski, Vice President of Public Advocacy and Strategic Communications for the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, who had been in the region during the crisis. Lisa told me some very moving stories of the
on-ground situation and the work that UNICEF does.

We are proud to announce that the Good Shirts fundraising campaign for the Horn of Africa in partnership with Threadless and BBH recently received the Silver award in the “Direct” category at the Cannes Lions awards! The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is the world’s biggest celebration of creativity in communications.

Like any seven-year-old, Jasper likes to play basketball, build Legos and watch a whole lot of Cartoon Network. He’s also got a mischievous streak and appreciates things a bit on the silly side.

For most of this past summer, his mother Erin began a tradition of reading a nightly newspaper story at the dinner table in order to foster a connection with the world and events beyond his own community. After an endless stream of articles about high oil prices, the U.S. debt ceiling and power outages, one hit Jasper above all others: The stories and faces of starving children in the Horn of Africa.

He knew he needed to help.
Like any kid, his heart broke when he saw the suffering of children his own age or younger. But Jasper knew he wanted to do more than feel bad. So Jasper enlisted his brother Beckett, 9, and bugged his mom Erin to set up a lemonade stand to raise money to see if—even though he was only about to start the second grade—he could help UNICEF achieve its goal of zero children in hunger.

UNICEF’s Emergency Supply Center is an enormous warehouse where lifesaving supplies such as medical kits, nutritional supplies, therapeutic food, water, and vaccines are packed and distributed worldwide. UNICEF staff members gave us a tour, which I found particularly interesting. I was impressed to learn that one single packed UNICEF emergency supply box can help 1,000 people!

In case you missed last week’s broadcast, take a moment to watch the Nightline special about the crisis in the Horn of Africa and the UNICEF emergency supply flight that U.S. Fund for UNICEF’s President and CEO took part in with ABC correspondent Cynthia McFaddin.