News / food insecurity
Easton youth activist calls government to action
A youth activist from Easton has visited Parliament to call on the government to lend more support to those going hungry in East Africa.
Precious Ozemoya attended Parliament on Monday, February 27 as part of the ‘East Africa Hunger Crisis Day of Action’.
Alongside over 80 activists from charities including the ONE Campaign, Oxfam and UNICEF, Ozemoya spoke directly with MPs in Westminster about the deteriorating situation in East Africa.
is needed now More than ever
It is now estimated that a person dies every 36 seconds because of acute food insecurity in either Somalia, Ethiopia or Kenya.
Speaking to Bristol24/7, Ozemoya said: “these countries are experiencing their worst droughts in more than forty years.”
Ozemoya, a former global school advocate for the United Nations, is calling on the government to help people impacted by the hunger crisis in East Africa by restoring the UK aid budget to 0.7 per cent of gross national income.
“The UK is not doing enough to respond to the hunger crisis in East Africa, which is putting millions of lives at risk,” said Ozemoya.
“There needs to be greater investment in residential and local communities so that they can support themselves.”
The UK Government has disproportionately cut funding to the humanitarian response in East Africa despite the severity of the crisis.
Hunger on a comparable scale was last seen in the region in 2017, when the UK provided £861m in humanitarian funding. It is thought that early action helped minimise the worst of the effects and saved thousands of lives.
This year, the UK has so far provided just £156m.
The Westminster event was opened by Labour MP Hilary Benn and Conservative MP Vicky Ford.
Speeches were given by development and Africa minister Andrew Mitchell and shadow foreign secretary David Lammy.
Ozemoya also met with Bristol West MP Thangam Debbonaire to discuss the severity of the food crisis and Debbonaire agreed to raise the issue with the prime minister.
Main Photo: Anna Gordon Pics
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