News
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visit Unicef in Copenhagen to support the East Africa Crisis
2nd November 2011
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited the Emergency Distribution Centre in Copenhagen today to see first-hand the work being done to help the East Africa Crisis.
The visit is one that aims to put the global spotlight back on the crisis, where 13 million people are in need of crucial aid.
Experiencing one of the worst droughts in decades, hundreds of thousands of children in the region are in critical need of medical supplies and nutritional help.
Having been deeply moved by the desperate plight of so many seriously ill children, Their Royal Highnesses made the decision to visit Copenhagen where the supplies are being distributed to the famine zones.
Touring the centre, The Duke and Duchess were offered a taste of a special high-protein peanut paste which is sent to malnourished children in Africa.
On arrival, they were given a briefing on the crisis threatening the region and given details on nutrition and food for people in the area.
The Duke took a fingerful of the paste before passing it over to Denmark's Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary, who accompanied them to the Unicef centre.
Their Royal Highnesses were greeted at the main entrance by Unicef officials, and were given bouquets of flowers by Amanda Kofoed and Maryam Abdullah, both aged 10 and the daughters of Unicef employees, before heading inside for the briefing.
Peter Hailey, senior nutritional manager at Unicef briefed Their Royal Highnesses on nutrition and the work of the emergency distribution team.
Speaking during the visit, The Duchess said she hoped the visit would "bring the spotlight back on to the crisis".
View the video from the visit:
Further information:
Visit www.eastafricacrisis.org to find out more