Princess Haya calls for end to chronic food shortages

Nairobi: Princess Haya Bint Al Hussain, Wife of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and the UN Messenger of Peace, visited Nairobi on Saturday to encourage an effective local and global response to catastrophic food shortages.

"As many as 20 million people in the region around the Horn of Africa are suffering from food shortages that have been exacerbated by the prolonged drought. One in every 10 Kenyans needs outside help, and malnutrition rates among young children are rising at an alarming rate," Princess Haya said. "We must do more."

Princess Haya's visit included meetings with President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga to discuss strategies to meet Kenya's food needs.

She also received briefings at an urban school feeding programme, the Haruma Nursing Home Maternal and Child Health project and the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, the largest ongoing private effort to promote agricultural production in Africa.