The Western Morning News has launched a Christmas appeal to raise money for food and medical aid for people in Kenya.

In association with the African Medical and Research Foundation, the paper is aiming to provide both emergency and long-term relief to more than three million people in Kenya, which is in the middle of its worst drought for 40 years.

The Foundation has invited the Morning News to see the suffering for itself.

As part of the campaign, Morning News journalist Janet King and picture editor Michael Cranmer have travelled to Kenya and visited isolated areas to report on the misery – and allow the people of Kenya to have their say.

Eighty per cent of the country is affected, as crops have failed, tens of thousands of cattle have died and in some areas up to 30 per cent of children under five are suffering from malnutrition.

But despite such appalling hardship, international food aid for Kenya is dwindling.

Tom Noel, the Foundation’s deputy UK director, told the Morning News: “You might expect a drought this bad to feature large in the world’s press – yet it has moved agonisingly slowly.

“We hope that by launching this Christmas appeal with the WMN, your readers can help us bring both short- and long-term relief to the people of Kenya.”

AMREF is Africa’s largest health charity. An independent, non-profit, non-governmental organisation based in Nairobi, it supports communities in their own efforts to improve their health and well-being and runs comprehensive training courses for health professionals working in Africa.

As well as being involved in distributing food, the Foundation is also focusing on other, non-food, areas in an attempt to help build a long-term recovery programme for Kenya when the drought is over.

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