Bishop Harold joins briefing on African crisis
In his role as a Tearfund Vice–President, Bishop Harold has attended a round table briefing about the worsening situation in the Horn of Africa, hosted by local MEP Jim Nicholson.
The meeting, which included representatives from local Aid agencies and churches, took place in the run up to the African, Caribbean and Pacific / European Union (ACP–EU) Joint Parliamentary Assembly, of which Mr Nicholson is the fifth vice President.
Around 12 million people in East Africa are facing severe hunger as some areas experience the worst drought in 60 years, destroying crops and livestock. Failed harvests, escalating food prices and a changing climate are all combining to push millions of people to the brink of starvation.
During the meeting the Aid agencies outlined a number of ways in which Mr Nicholson could use his influence at the ACP–EU Assembly. ‘In the short term, we asked Mr Nicholson to encourage each EU member state to give their fair share of aid to East Africa – many lag well behind the excellent example which the UK has set’ says Tim Magowan, Tearfund’s Northern Ireland Director. ‘In the longer term, we asked him to encourage EU members to deliver their promised investment in small scale agriculture and climate change adaptation plans’.
‘I have listened to points raised and I will take these back to Parliament and the Joint Parliamentary Assembly,’ says Mr Nicholson. ‘I hope today’s discussions will help me be the best advocate possible for our local aid organisations as they seek to alleviate the suffering of hundreds of thousands of the most vulnerable. Much good is being done but it is clear much more is needed.’
Tearfund has been working with Christian partners in the Horn of Africa region for decades to help communities withstand drought by improving their agricultural skills. Local partners are also currently providing food, water and shelter to hundreds of thousands of people affected by the crisis.
To date Tearfund supporters in Northern Ireland have given over £200,000 to the
Horn of Africa appeal
. ‘Yet again Northern Irish people have responded extremely generously to this life and death situation’ says Tim Magowan. ‘This support is enabling us to deliver aid on the ground, equip church and communities to become more resilient for the future and lobby governments and institutions to address the underlying causes’.
Bishop Harold Miller is pictured below with Jim Nicholson, Revd Dr Mark Gray and Tim Magowan.