Anti-poverty campaign group ONE today launched a new short film about the food crisis in the Horn of Africa as part of its Hungry No More campaign. The films, which are the result of a unique collaboration with the African production company A24 Media, focus on the untold story of the food crisis that is gripping the region.
The project was led by Salim Amin, Chairman of A24 Media and son of Mo Amin, the Kenyan photojournalist known for his remarkable footage of the Ethiopian famine in the 1980s.
Salim and his film crew travelled to Tigray in Ethiopia, the place hardest hit by the 1984 famine and the place his father captured his best known footage.
What Salim found was a situation in stark contrast to the images his father captured. Long-term investments by governments, donors and local communities have allowed the community to develop agricultural programmes that are resilient to drought and help create a path out of poverty.
Salim Amin commented:
While the effect of drought are being felt acutely in parts of the Horn of Africa, what we found when we made these films would have delighted my father. Starvation no longer stalks the inhabitants of the very areas that were hit hardest in the famine of the 1980s. Instead we found green fields full and healthy, well-fed children.”
Jamie Drummond, Executive Director at ONE, added:
“These films show why smart aid for African agriculture can be so transformative and lifesaving, and why the G20 must not shirk their wider responsibilities this week in Cannes even while they dealing with the crisis in the Eurozone.
“Ethiopia, once a basket case, is now consistently one of Africa’s strongest economic performers. This growth is underpinned by progress in agriculture and food security. There are still too many people in Ethiopia are poor and hungry, but malnutrition has halved in the last two decades. That significant progress now needs to be replicated across Africa.”
Source: press release by A24media & One
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thank you for sharing such a beautiful story of progress. it brings hope to the rest of Africa and reprints the image of Ethiopia in a new and bright way.