Tell President Obama: Speak out on famine

The hunger crisis in the Horn of Africa is the world's worst humanitarian crisis – and it's far from over. Half the Somali population doesn't have enough food to eat. By the end of the year, 750,000 Somalis may have died of hunger.

Despite the immense scale of suffering, the world has done too little to address the crisis. Our own President has barely acknowledged it in his public statements. After the Haiti earthquake, the President showed real leadership by speaking out loudly and publicly about the importance of a major global response. The fact that he has not done so on this famine reflects that broader global failure to commit to addressing this crisis. President Obama needs to speak out publicly – and soon – to signal a strong American commitment and to press global leaders to contribute aid that is desperately needed by the people of East Africa.

With hundreds of children in Africa's Horn dying of hunger every day, our President can't stay silent. Tell President Obama to speak out now, and help bring global attention to crisis in the Horn.

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Dear President Obama,

The hunger crisis in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia is horrifying. Already, tens of thousands of people – mostly children - have died of starvation. Experts believe 750,000 Somalis may starve to death by the end of the year.

Yet you and many other world leaders have been nearly silent about this crisis.  This lack of leadership has been reflected by an anemic US and global response. The US response to this crisis has fallen far short of the US response to earlier crisis in the Horn: in response to a lesser crisis in 2008, the Bush Administration contributed 50% more support to the region than your Administration has this year.  I urge you to take personal ownership of this issue, as you did following the Haiti earthquake, and speak out loudly about the need for a greater global response.

We need to raise awareness about the terrible scale of suffering in the Horn of Africa to prompt full humanitarian aid for those struggling to survive.  I urge you to press other global leaders to step up by speaking publicly on the famine and urging the world to do more for the thousands of children in the Horn of Africa currently at risk of starvation.

Thank you for your time.