Fredrick Onyango | NATION Coca-Cola Regional President Nathan Kalumbu (second right) presents the cheque to Dr Ahmed Hassan of Somalia Red Crescent Society. Coca-Cola Kisii Bottlers Ltd boss John Simba and businessman Chris Kirubi (left) attended the function in Nairobi.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Handing over the donation to the Kenya Red Cross, the Ethiopia Red Cross and the Somali Red Crescent, Cola-Cola’s President for Central, East and West Africa said the scale and magnitude of the crisis demands collaborative effort from everybody.
Mr Nathan Kalumbu called on governments, civil society and the private sector to remain constructively discontent in an effort to find long-term solutions to the perennial problem.
“None of us can do it alone. It is my firm belief that we should move quickly and work together to develop sustainable, home-grown solutions to this crisis,” he said.
The funds — contributed from The Coca-Cola Foundation, company bottling partners and employees — will be used to provide water, basic food and critical medicines with a special focus on children the three countries.
The donation came as the government received the first batch of 42,000 metric tonnes of relief food worth Sh1.6 billion from the Japanese government.
Agriculture minister Sally Kosgey, PS Dr Kiome Romano and Special Programmes assistant minister Mahmoud Ali received 16,000 metric tonnes of maize from Japanese ambassador to Kenya, Mr Toshihisa Takata, which was immediately transported by trucks to northern Kenya.
Second batch
While handing over the donation at the National Cereal and Produce Board depot in Changamwe, Mombasa, Mr Takata said the food aid is intended to feed an estimated 3.5 million people.
“A second and third batch of maize amounting to 10,000 and 16,000 tonnes each will arrive by end of August,” he said.
Meanwhile, the government and relief agencies have expressed optimism that intervention measures are having an effect.
Kenya Red Cross boss Abbas Gullet said while the famine threat still hangs over some regions, tangible results of massive relief efforts are evident.
“In Kerio Valley for instance, children who were malnourished and on the verge of starvation are now flourishing. This is as a result of emphasis on nutrition as a key component for relief supplies,” Mr Abbas said, adding similar efforts are underway in Mandera and Wajir.
A second consignment of relief food was dispatched to those districts on Saturday through the Kenyans4Kenya initiative.
He added that the Kenyans4 Kenya initiative is also looking at long-term solutions to the recurrent food problem in the arid and semi-arid areas.