Anderson Cooper reports live from Somalia and talks with U2's Bono about the disturbing hunger situation there and how you can help. Tune into "AC360º" at 8 and 10 p.m. ET Wednesday on CNN.
There is no way to dignify the description of death by starvation. It is neither quick nor painless. Not too long after the food is cut off, the body resorts to fuel reserves in the liver and fatty tissues. Once the fat is all gone, and the person is a skeleton of what he or she once was, the body searches for protein, and finds it in muscle tissue. Even the muscle of the heart is consumed, leaving someone drained and listless.
The body shuts down. The pulse, the blood pressure and body temperature all precipitously drop. Little kids such as Ahmed (a six year old boy at the Dadaab refugee camp) completely stop growing and become stunted in time.
Read more at Saving Ahmed from starvation
Previously - The funny sounding nut paste that's saving children's lives in Somalia
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It can't be that bad.
"I'm so hungry and weak I can't move. I got plenty of energy to have sex and make babies though..."
You can also donate to Unicef and Doctors without Borders.
my heart just breaks....prayers that relief comes quickly in the form of food, water, medicine & rain. anything to get these grief stricken people help – fast
Kat, thank you. I am wondering if you ought not to put this link onto the page of every article on Somalia, famine issues, and what is unfolding in the Horn of Africa? LB
I would like a link through CNN and AC360 to contribute to the relief of famine in Somalia. Can you provide that link? Thank you.
Indeed I can. Here you go:
http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/07/20/iyw.howtohelp.somalia.famine/index.html
It's admirable that you want to help starving children in Africa. Are you in living in America?
When's the last time you did something to help starving children anywhere, regardless of their place of birth? And do you always make negative inferences from a two-line post or is this a one-off occasion?