Scottish Catholic Entity Petitions UK Government to Fund Food Aid in East Africa

Nairobi, 06 September, 2023 / 2:37 AM

A Scottish Catholic charity organization is asking the United Kingdom (UK) government to deliver cash for food aid in East Africa.

According to the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (SCIAF), the people of God in East Africa are experiencing one of the “worst droughts in living memory”.  

“Deliver new and additional cash for the people of East Africa facing a food crisis,” SCIAF Head of Advocacy, Ben Wilson, says in a video recording published Monday, September 4.

In a separate petition, SCIAF officials say, “Money is urgently needed to supply food aid in East Africa, ensuring families can survive one of the most devastating food crises in their history.” 

In May 2023, the Word Food Programme (WFP) said more than 23 million people in parts of Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia were facing “severe hunger”.

In their petition, SCIAF officials also ask the UK government to reverse its humanitarian aid package to foreign nations.

In 2020, the then UK Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, now Prime Minister, announced he was cutting the overseas aid budget by a third thus ending the European country’s commitment to spend 0.7% of gross national income on aid.

“The decision to cut overseas aid must be reversed,” SCIAF officials say in their petition, adding that the aid has been beneficial to millions of people in previous years. 

They continue, “In 2017, many thousands of lives were saved when the UK invested millions of pounds to avert a famine. This time round, the devastating cuts mean the UK has given itself less room to help and lives are being lost.”

Officials of the Catholic entity urge the UK government to promote sustainable forms of agriculture across the world.

“The global food system has been designed to feed the greedy, not the needy. Smallholder farmers don’t get the support they need to grow food for their families and communities. While profits skyrocket and food waste is on the rise for the few, many families are left with little to nothing,” SCIAF officials say.