Nationwide Horn of Africa telethon on Wednesday

A three-day nationwide fund-raising telethon for relieving victims of famine and drought in the Horn of Africa will be rolled out on Wednesday, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Public Works and Chairman of the National Media Council (NMC) announced on Tuesday.

He said the humanitarian drive will be launched under instructions given by President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and close follow up of General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, under the theme Suqyahum, Arabic for 'Quenching their thirst'.

Ordered by Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler's Representative in the Western Region and Chairman of the UAE Red Crescent Authority (RCA), Sheikh Hamdan bin Mubarak said the media campaign demonstrates the noble humanitarian stances of the leadership and people of the UAE in coming forward for assisting population affected by drought and famine in the Horn of Africa.

"Upon issuance of presidential instructions, the NMC has immediately swept into action to contact local broadcasters to coordinate the launch of the fund-raising campaign," Sheikh Hamdan bin Mubarak said.

He added that Abu Dhabi TV will coordinate with fellow TV and radio stations to launch the three-day campaign starting from Wednesday for 90 minutes daily.

Sheikh Hamdan lauded a two-day telethon announced by Dubai Media Incorporated (DMI ) aimed at raising funds to provide emergency humanitarian aid for famine-struck populations in Somalia and other drought-hit Horn of Africa countries.

Entitled "A'inouhum", Arabic for "Help them", the fundraising telethon, which is part of a media campaign by Dubai Media Incorporated (DMI) under instructions from His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, will be broadcast on Noor Dubai TV channel, Noor Dubai radio station and Arabic daily Al Bayan Newspaper on Tuesday and Wednesday.

He also commended the "Save Them" fundraising telethon which was got underway in Sharjah by Sharjah Charity Society through Sharjah Media Corporation (SMC) in response to instructions by His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council member and Ruler of Sharjah.

Sheikh Hamdan asserted that all these humanitarian efforts underline the determination of the UAE leadership to alleviate impact of the unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe in the Horn of Africa which claimed tens of thousands of lives, mostly women and children, He appealed to good-doers and philanthropists in the UAE to donate to the Horn of Africa aid campaign for the sake of easing suffering and saving lives of millions of needy people.

Over 165 million people in the Horn of Africa region are affected by the drought which hit Somalia, Djibouti and Ethiopia. During the past few weeks, around 29,000 children died of hunger.

A ship carrying 400,000 tons of foodstuff and medicines donated by philanthropists in the UAE will sail to Mogadishu in the coming few days as part of the RCA aid campaign to Somalia. The RCA has set up about 15 camps in Somalia.

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