Kenya plans benefit concert
2006-02-03 12:12
Nairobi - A group of Kenyan musicians announced on Friday a weekend benefit concert to raise money for millions threatened by famine from a searing drought as the United States boosted its food aid.
With the Kenyan government and UN agencies poised next week to raise the official number of those at risk in Kenya, the musicians said the concert would emulate the 1984 "Live Aid" concert for Ethiopian famine victims.
"There is no specific target for either food or money, but we intend to raise as much as possible," said organiser Faki Liwali. "Because the problem is persisting, we want to get as much as we can."
About 28 musicians have agreed to take part in Sunday's event at Nairobi's Nyayo National Stadium that will feature two songs written especially for the show.
The entry fee will be the equivalent of $1 or a packet of maizemeal flour, organisers said.
As plans for the concert took shape, the US embassy in Kenya announced that Washington had donated 12 800 tonnes of emergency food aid worth $7.5m for the relief effort.
The grant includes 12 000 tonnes of US wheat to be given to the Kenyan government which will then release 14 400 tonnes of in-stock maize to those in need plus 600 tonnes of peas and 200 tonnes of vegetable oil, it said.
"The food will address the immediate food needs of 1.5 million drought victims throughout Kenya, particularly in the eastern and northeasterm pastoralist areas," the embassy said.
At least 40 people, mainly children in the northeast, have died from drought-related malnutrition and associated illness since December and Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki declared a national disaster on New Year's Day.
The government estimates that up to four million Kenyans will need food aid to stave off famine by the end of this month although the United Nations and other agencies still put the number at 2.5 million.
However, relief officials said the UN-endorsed figure would rise dramatically, likely to at least 3.5 million, on Wednesday when the government and aid agencies are to present their latest projections.
- SAPA