Contact: Mike Kiernan, 202-261-4686, 202-460-0614 cell; Eileen Burke, 203-221-4233, 203-216-0718 cell; Kate Conradt, 202-261-4673, 202-294-9700 cell; all with Save the Children

WESTPORT, Conn., Dec. 13 /Standard Newswire/ -- Responding to severe flooding in the Horn of Africa, Save the Children's sister agencies from around the world are distributing lifesaving supplies to families in the region, including 42 tons of blankets, mosquito nets, water containers and plastic sheets for temporary shelter.

Relief experts on the scene say unusually heavy rains during the past two months have put up to 1.8 million children and family members at risk in parts of Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia.

The response is focusing its initial efforts on the more than 80,000 Somali people in the region surrounding the Shabelle River, which at times has reached dangerous levels of 27 feet. Save the Children is aiming to reach approximately 6,000 families within the next several weeks.

"Our top priority is to provide shelter and access to clean water to those children and families most in need," said Rudy Von Bernuth, who heads Save the Children USA's emergency response effort. "Save the Children's members worldwide recognize the severity of the crisis and are coordinating their collective relief efforts. Recently three planes were dispatched, carrying a total of 42 tons of relief items to Belet Weyne in Somalia. The cargo included 10,000 blankets, 10,000 mosquito nets, 5,000 plastic sheets and 3,000 water containers."

Save the Children staff members in Belet Weyne, one of the worst affected areas, have already begun the distribution of relief items including plastic sheets, mosquito nets and blankets. Staff members have been working to repair the airstrip in the town after it was damaged by flood waters. Access to the town is very difficult as many roads have been swept away.

Working in a Fragile Region

In Somalia and throughout the Horn of Africa, the severe flooding represents the latest challenge for families in a region repeatedly afflicted by conflict, drought and flooding.

Save the Children's aid workers are warning that the floods are exacerbating an already precarious humanitarian situation, where political instability and the possibilities of widespread conflict continue to threaten communities. Children are already in a very vulnerable position, with levels of infant and maternal mortality among the highest in the world. The volatile environment increases the difficulty in providing a timely and substantive response.

Save the Children continues to assess the situation and is responding accordingly.