Jill Biden, Bill Frist to visit famine-affected Horn of Africa
Vice President Joe Biden's wife Jill Biden is leading a delegation of high-level American officials to the Horn of Africa this weekend to witness the severe famine affecting the area.
"As the situation in Somalia and East Africa so clearly illustrates, we all need to be responding to the very human tragedy that is unfolding," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday.
The delegation includes Raj Shah, administrator for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and Assistant Secretary Eric Schwartz from the State Department. Former Sen. Bill Frist is also going, according to the nonprofit Hope Through Healing Hands.
The drought and famine in Somalia have killed more than 29,000 children under the age of 5 in the last 90 days in southern Somalia alone, according to U.S. estimates. Out of a population of about 7.5 million, the United Nations says 3.2 million Somalis are in need of immediate lifesaving assistance.
The United States, through the State Department and USAID, is working with the international community and governments in the Horn of Africa to address the short-term immediate needs in the region, Clinton said Thursday, during remarks that followed a meeting with Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird. She said the U.S. is also trying to implement its Feed the Future initiative to mitigate the long-term effects of prolonged drought and food shortages in the future.
"We know these refugees, who have traveled so many miles from their homes, desperately need food, water, shelter, and safety. But they also need medical attention," Frist said in a statement. "Children especially need access to vaccinations, Vitamin A, deworming tablets, and oral rehydration to fight sickness and disease."
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