G-20 Calls for more aid for East Africa

The Group of 20 urged sustained international action to relieve famine conditions in the Horn of Africa while noting development of a project to prevent food crises on the other side of the continent, after a meeting late Friday. In a first-ever G-20 meeting to include both finance ministers and development ministers from the major economies, the group announced a pilot project led by the Economic Community of Western African States for a "targeted regional emergency humanitarian food reserve." Meeting in Washington on the sidelines of the meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, the G20 noted the continuing famine in Somalia and neighboring countries. "The humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa requires an international response," the G20 ministers said. "The internationa community has come together to support the people of the region, but more needs to be done," they were quoted as saying by the German Press Agency "DPA".