Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has asked USAID Administrator Raj Shah to visit Ethiopia and Kenya to discuss key agricultural and food security issues and demonstrate the United States’ continuing stalwart commitment to provide urgent life-saving aid to the populations affected by the current famine in the Horn of Africa.

This delegation includes Administrator Shah, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Agencies in Rome Ertharin Cousin, and Acting Special Representative for Global Food Security Jonathan Shrier. The delegation is traveling to Kenya and Ethiopia October 4-5. They will meet with government officials and civil society and private sector representatives to discuss progress in the region and impediments to securing unfettered humanitarian access to the at-risk populations in Somalia and those in camps in Kenya and Ethiopia. Since emergency assistance alone cannot solve the underlying long-term problems, the delegation will also visit programs that demonstrate how Feed the Future projects are supporting local efforts to increase resilience among vulnerable populations.

On September 23, 2011 at the United Nations, Secretary Clinton announced an additional contribution of approximately $42 million in humanitarian assistance for the Horn of Africa, which includes $30 million for efforts in Somalia. The United States is the largest donor of humanitarian assistance to the region, now providing approximately $650 million in life-saving assistance to help nearly 4.6 million people in need.