Hunger is not a game. Suzan’s story from South Sudan – Corriere TV

Food, climate and rising prices: One in five Africans suffer from hunger, an estimated 140 million people in Africa are facing severe food insecurity. Precisely against the food crisis in Africa, Amref launches the fundraising campaign “Hunger is not a game” with the aim of reaching and bringing assistance to over 315,000 people. Fiorella Mannoia, Martin Castrogiovanni, Gabriele Cirilli and Gigio Alberti will be the protagonists of the campaign spot, conceived and created by directors Luca and Marcello Lucini. The campaign will be broadcast on the Rai Networks – with the support of Rai For Sustainability – ESG from 6 to 12 March.

One of the most serious food crises of the last forty years is underway in Africa: millions of people are facing acute hunger due to one of the worst droughts in decades, aggravated by years of internal conflict and instability, by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the increase in food prices, partly also due to the war in Ukraine and the international crisis. Projections indicate that in 2030, 670 million people (equal to 8% of the world‘s population) will still suffer from hunger.

Africa continues to be the most affected region of the world. In Africa, the temperature increases by 0.5 degrees a year compared to the global average of 0.2 degrees. According to estimates by the World Health Organization (WHO), in low-income countries every year about 150,000 deaths are due to climate change and its direct consequences, in particular: failed crops and malnutrition, increase in diarrheal diseases, growth of cases of malaria and zoonoses, floods and environmental disasters. About 85% of these deaths are in young children. These numbers are tragically set to rise, reaching 250,000 more deaths per year in 2030 globally.

Africa is one of the continents most affected by climate change, although it contributes only 2-3% of greenhouse gas emissions. The conflict in Ukraine is having repercussions on the prices of food, energy and fertilizers and dramatically aggravating the conditions of food insecurity. Africa depends on Russia and Ukraine for about 40% of wheat imports (2018-2020 data). According to FAO simulations, the number of undernourished people globally could increase between 7.6 and 13.1 million during 2023 precisely because of the effects of the conflict in Ukraine. Suzan, a mother from South Sudan, tells in one of the stories collected by Amref that “flour has become inaccessible, due to the price. When I can’t buy anything, let’s drink some water and go to sleep” Thanks to her supporters, Amref guarantees clean water, medical care, food, training and awareness to 60 million people every year, in more than 30 African countries.

«Supporting this Amref campaign means saving from hunger and guaranteeing a future for more than 315,000 people» says Guglielmo Micucci – Director of Amref Italia, present at the largest conference on health and development in Africa (AHAIC 2023), from 5 to March 8 in Kigali, Rwanda. With the campaign “Hunger is not a game”, which Amref’s longtime friends Caterina Murino, PIF, Dario Vergassola and sportsmen Hervé Barmasse, Giovanni Soldini, Max Sirena also adhere to, Amref aims to strengthen active interventions in the most fragile areas of Burkina Faso, South Sudan and in the semi-desert areas of Ethiopia and Kenya. Here, Amref’s activities integrate training, prevention and treatment and are aimed in particular at groups of subjects mainly at risk: pregnant and breastfeeding women and children from 0 to 12 years of age. Each donation can become a concrete action. Some examples: in South Sudan, the country with one of the highest malnutrition and maternal and infant mortality rates in the world, 150,000 children under 5 and pregnant and breastfeeding women will receive essential micronutrients, over 30,000 children will be reached by the campaign vaccinate them. In Burkina Faso, among other actions, it will be possible to supply the food needed to ensure regular school canteen service for 3,500 children. In Ethiopia, the fundraising will make it possible to rehabilitate the water system, wells and troughs for livestock for a community of over 15,000 people.

It will be possible to donate to the solidarity number 45537: the value of the donation will be 2 euros for each SMS sent from Wind Tre, TIM, Vodafone, Iliad, Poste Mobile, Coop Voce, Tiscali mobile phones. It will also cost 5 euros for each call made to the same number from a TWT, Convergenze and Poste Mobile landline and 5/10 euros for each call made to the same number from a TIM, Vodafone, Wind Tre, Fastweb and Tiscali landline.