Irish Donate 'Remarkable' $17m To Somali Famine In Six Weeks

Irish aid agencies have reported that donations from the Irish public made in response to the drought and famine in Somalia and neighboring countries have topped $17 million over the past six weeks.

That figure does not include $11.5 million pledged by the Irish government. Hans Zomer, director of Dochas, the umbrella body for development organizations in Ireland said it had been a "phenomenally positive response".

"We hear so much about the hard times at home, but quite clearly the Irish people have not forgotten the people who are really suffering and are at risk of dying," he said.

"The important message is that the needs of the people there are very great and they are likely to grow," he added, "The next harvest will be in November, and until then people will have to depend on food aid."

He said charities were extremely grateful for the large sum of money raised.

Trocaire said it had received over $7.2m, Concern Ireland has raised $5.75m and Oxfam Ireland over $1.6m.

Over 40 aid organizations are represented by Dochas.

Jim Clarken, chief executive of Oxfam Ireland, said the level of donations from the Irish public was "absolutely fantastic" at a time when many Irish people were experiencing financial difficulties themselves.

An estimated ten million people have been affected by the drought conditions in large areas of Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia.

It's the worst famine in the region for over 60 yeears.

Meanwhile, the Irish aid agency GOAL is calling for UN peacekeepers to protect millions of people trapped in Somalia by the Al-Shabaab terrorist group.

CEO John O'Shea says that while the international community is focussed on refugee camps in Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti, and on feeding programmes in Mogadishu, they only represent an overspill from the heart of the crisis.

"Given what organisations such as Human Rights Watch, the German aid organisation Welthungerhilfe, and the African Union have been saying, there is an increasing awareness that such a peacekeeping force is vital if the lives of four million starving Somalis are to be saved."

GOAL wants the Irish government to pressure the UN Security Council to deploy peacekeepers to Somalia.