Fourteen million people are at risk of starvation in southern Africa, as a prolonged drought has parched the land that has traditionally met the needs of the people in southern Africa. Livestock have died, water supplies have dried up, and thousands of farmers have had moved closer to the cities, turning many of them into refugees in their own countries. Thousands of those migrating to the cities never made it.
With the shortfall of corps, mainly caused by this extended drought, fourteen million people are dependent on sustained food assistance. That means they have no way of feeding themselves, and they must rely on donors from around the world to help in distributing food to them, as this crisis could turn catastrophic.
It is the worst drought since 1991 and 1992. If the rains don’t arrive in the next 60 days, the drought may take thousands of more lives, as was the situation in 1985 and 1986 when thousands of lives were lost in “The Great Drought of Africa”.
In 1986 and 1987, Mercy Airlift flew millions of pounds of food, as well as medical supplies to remote villages where the food and supplies were distributed directly to the affected people, and as the Director of Relief for the government of Ethiopia stated, "Tens of thousands would have been lost, were it not for Mercy Airlift”.
Just $40.00 will feed two families for one month. It’s such a relatively small amount to save lives. Please partner with us, and do what you can. For the $40.00 per month, each of us individually can make for these families, the difference between life and starvation. If we don’t, then who?
India has been inundated with heavy rains resulting in the heaviest flooding in over 22 years. An estimated 600 people have died in the floods which have affected 17 million people, leaving thousands of people homeless and helpless, having lost all of their belongings. "The situation is still quite critical. It's a huge disaster," Fernando Soares, a spokesman for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies told the Reuters New Agency.
Ethiopia is experiencing a continued drought that threatens millions of lives. The Ethiopian government has again requested that Mercy Airlift assist in providing food supplies to Ethiopia, where an estimated 6 million people are at risk of starving.
Mercy Airlift continues to operate Medical Airlift flights to rural and remote villages in Mexico where medical supplies are in short supply or are simply not available.