Biden's trip "underscored the commitment natural hair extensions of the U.S. government - the single largest donor in the region - to respond to the immediate crisis with life-saving assistance and investments in long-term solutions to hunger," Shah said in a USAID release August 9. "Ultimately, we know that it is smarter and cheaper to invest in food security than face the consequences of famine and food riots."
To demonstrate U.S. support for agricultural development in the region, Biden visited the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute in Hair Extensions Online Nairobi and met with Agriculture Minister Sally Kosgei. U.S. officials say that, as a result of severe drought, the Horn of Africa faces widespread crop failure, livestock mortality and increased food prices.
The United Nations says Somalia has been hardest hit by the crisis, with famine now affecting five regions across the country and threatening to spread. The U.S. Agency for International Development estimates that more than 600,000 Somalis have fled to neighboring countries, many "walking hundreds of miles to refugee camps in search of food and water" in a migration that has put additional strain on drought-affected areas of Kenya and Ethiopia.
Biden visited the Dadaab Refugee Complex in eastern Kenya, which Schwartz says currently hosts more than 420,000 Somali refugees, making it the Clip In Hair Extensions largest refugee camp in the world.
She also met with Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga during her trip "to discuss how the United States can work with international partners on the best response to the crisis," the White House said August 8.
USAID said the United States has contributed more than $565 million to the Horn of Africa in 2011 alone, helping at least 4.6 million people in need.
But Smith said that while the United States has played a leading role in assisting the region, U.S. leaders are also "aggressively reaching out" to the international community for support.
"We need other countries to step up with us," she said, adding that even as global leaders begin to take action, the United States continues to encourage all donors to "ramp up their responses."
