The executive director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Carol Bellamy on Thursday began a five-day, five-nation tour of the Horn to highlight the continuing plight of millions of people facing drought, hunger and the effects of armed conflict. Bellamy’s trip was intended “to attract international attention to the situation in the region at a time when the drought crisis and its enormous human impact has faded from the headlines”, a UN statement said. UNICEF has estimated that 70 percent of the affected population of some 13 million people are women and children, with the latter most vulnerable to the malnutrition and disease associated with drought. The UNICEF director’s trip was intended to draw renewed attention to the desperate situation facing women and children across the region, and her trip to Eritrea on Friday coincided with the UN’s “Day of the African Child,” the statement added.
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