The current famine in the Horn of Africa is threatening to claim millions of lives. In Somalia alone nearly 4 million people are at risk, half of them children.
Although famine has been formally declared by the UN, appeals by charities providing aid in the area struggle to gain media cut-through, and in the UK, UNICEF executive director David Bull has spoken about the “children’s famine” being overshadowed by the phone hacking saga.
After hearing him interviewed on Radio 4’s Today programme Porter Novelli’s UK MD Sally Ward contacted UNICEF in London to see how we could help – and as a result we’ve provided a week of pro bono support to help the charity get its urgent fundraising message out to the wider world.
Over the last few days 10 PNers have worked in the charity’s office in Farringdon alongside its press and digital teams to reach out to influential bloggers from the parenting, social media and lifestyle sectors asking them to donate a tweet or a blog post to this worthwhile cause. We’re also developing longer term campaign platforms to keep the story in the spotlight, and lifesaving funds coming in.
If you’d like to do your part to help there are two easy ways to contribute: simply donate £10 by texting FAMINE to 70007, or contribute online at www.unicef.org.uk/pn
And to stay in touch with the latest news on the relief effort, follow @unicef_uk on Twitter.
blogger outreach, charity
