ACF International Network
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Action Against Hunger has developed its water and sanitation expertise over nearly three decades of field work, advancing a number of solutions for populations at risk from water insecurity.
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Central to the targeting of malnutrition, Action Against Hunger extends water and sanitation improvements to communities with little or no access to proper sources.
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Action Against Hunger's programs are sustainable because of our commitment to community participation—to build local capacity and harnesses a population's energy and resources.
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Though strategies may vary, our food security interventions all share a common goal: to fight hunger by preserving and strengthening livelihoods in a sustainable and contextual manner.
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Action Against Hunger’s innovative food security programs offer a broad range of solutions for generating income, boosting food production, and strengthening livelihoods.
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Our comprehensive approach to hunger involves extending water and sanitation services to communities faced with water scarcity, unsafe drinking water, and inadequate sanitation.
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Action Against Hunger occupies a unique place among international organizations: our expertise encompasses emergency relief, longer-term development, and the terrain in between.
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We have developed an effective method to treat acute malnutrition that includes field-tested protocols and nutritional products backed by an international scientific advisory committee.
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Action Against Hunger helps rehabilitate and restock public health infrastructure, fields mobile health clinics, and trains local medical personnel on preventative and diagnostic care.
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Our comprehensive programs address the linkages between disease and malnutrition by coordinating with local expertise and strengthening existing public health systems.
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Threat of Famine Looms in Kenya as Conditions Worsen
As malnutrition rates skyrocket and the local resource base deteriorates, ACF warns that the worst has yet to come.
January 6, 2006
Malnutrition is increasing exponentially in northern Kenya, reports the international aid organization Action Against Hunger (also known as Action contre la Faim or ACF). With little food, no water, and dying cattle, the area faces the possibility of famine, the organization warns.

During the first three weeks of December, the number of children admitted into ACF's emergency feeding centers was 29% higher than during the entire month of November, with 49% of those cases coming in the past week. In addition, children arriving at the centers are more severely malnourished than those the organization has seen in the past, and they've been suffering from more potentially fatal diseases such as dysentery and malaria. ACF's supplemental feeding centers, which treat children suffering from less severe cases of malnutrition, are also seeing the largest number of admissions since the centers opened in 2004.

"The situation in Mandera has really gone from bad to disastrous," said Kelly Delaney, ACF nutritionist.

A lack of infrastructure in a harsh environment has meant a constant fight against malnutrition for the population living in northern Kenya. According to ACF Emergency Coordinator Roger Persichino, poor rainfall over the past three seasons has made the situation worse for the already vulnerable population, killing cattle that the pastoral population depends on for its livelihood.

"This population depends on cattle for food, transportation, and economic viability," said Persichino. "Cattle dying now means that children will die months from now, and families will be left with no economic viability or way to feed themselves."

With the support of the Kenyan government, the UK Department for International Development (DFID), the European Union, UNICEF, and the World Food Program, Action Against Hunger has been working in conjunction with local NGOs and other international aid organizations to reach imperiled populations throughout the district.

ACF is currently opening a new feeding center in the northwest and will be working with the local community to distribute water, rehabilitate wells, and improve sanitation for about 54,000 people. Additional international support is nonetheless essential. ACF warns that without blanket food distributions, immediate assistance to livestock, support for the local health-care system, and a focus on the long-term rehabilitation of water and sanitation facilities, Kenya is likely to face even more deaths in the future.

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About Action Against Hunger

Action Against Hunger / Action Contre la Faim (ACF), an international relief and development organization committed to saving the lives of malnourished children and families, provides sustainable access to safe water and long-term solutions to hunger. For nearly three decades, ACF has pursued its vision of a world without hunger by combating hunger in emergency situations of conflict, natural disaster, and chronic food insecurity.

Press Contact

Action Against Hunger - USA

James L. Phelan
Senior External Relations Officer, ACF-USA
Contact James Phelan
Direct: 212-967-7800 x108
Cell: 646-265-7796