Assistance that Iceland has given to southern Somalia has already saved the lives of thousands, UNICEF reports.
Somalia is a country in the midst of a brutal civil war that has rendered it an effectively stateless society. Violence and famine are rife, and southern Somalia is under the control of extremists who have banned foreign aid agencies.
Nonetheless, UNICEF has been doing what they can to help people in the region, and Iceland has taken no small part in this. According to a statement on their website, Iceland has sent some 1,300 tonnes of material to the region. This includes 653 tonnes of nutritionally fortified instant porridge mix, distributed to some 800 centres in the area.
Material has also been sent to Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti, which are currently grappling with a drought.
About 8,000 Icelanders have given to UNICEF in the past few days, raising some 21.5 million ISK. Many Icelanders also donate on a monthly basis through their private bank accounts.
If you want to donate to UNICEF, and have a mobile phone in Iceland, you can do so by calling 908-1000, 908-3000 or 908-5000, which donates 1,000, 3,000 and 5,000 ISK to UNICEF respectively, directly from your phone bill. You can also deposit money directly into UNICEF Iceland’s bank account – make transfers payable to account number 515-26-102040, using the kennitala 481203-2950.
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