Campaign to Tackle the Crisis in the Horn of Africa
NFL players have joined FWD, a national public awareness campaign designed to inform Americans of the extreme famine, war and drought in the Horn of Africa.
Developed by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Ad Council, the FWD campaign encourages Americans to forward the facts about the crisis and to donate to the relief efforts. It was announced Wednesday, Dec. 21.
“Right now, the famine, war and drought in the Horn of Africa is the largest humanitarian crisis in the world, impacting more than 13 million people,” said USAID Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah. “As lives and livelihoods are threatened, USAID and its partners are working to increase awareness of the crisis and urge people to act and support relief efforts.”
The new television PSAs, taped in November, feature Ray Lewis, Linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens; Asante Samuel, Cornerback for the Philadelphia Eagles; Nnamdi Asomugha, Cornerback for the Philadelphia Eagles; Maurice Jones-Drew, Running Back for the Jacksonville Jaguars; Greg Jennings, Wide Receiver for the Green Bay Packers; Larry Fitzgerald, Wide Receiver for the Arizona Cardinals; Josh Freeman, Quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers; Lamarr Woodley, Linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers; Matt Forte, Halfback for the Chicago Bears and Jeff Saturday, Center for the Indianapolis Colts.
Launched in October, FWD – an acronym for famine, war and drought – is a multimedia campaign which aims to encourage Americans to spread awareness of the crisis in the Horn of Africa, support the humanitarian organizations conducting relief operations and learn more about the solutions through President Obama’s Feed the Future initiative.
The United States Government initiative addresses the root causes of chronic hunger by helping to foster better farming, stronger markets and greater resilience to climate shocks.
