Norwegian giving towards the Somali famine appeal has been high, with an increase noted after the 22 July attacks on Oslo and Utøya.
Aid organization Care Norway confirmed last week that they had received NOK 500,000 (nearly USD 91,000) in the first week of their campaign, but spokesperson Lisa Sivertsen stated in newspaper Aftenposten that they are “going to need much more.” Sivertsen described the crisis as “probably the worst hunger crisis in recent times.”
Sivertsen also confirmed that the organization “experienced already just after 22 July, before we had any campaigns, that there were people who went to our website in order to give,” suggesting that they have “noticed a solidarity that has increased after the attacks” on Oslo and Utøya. The Red Cross and Norwegian Church Aid have also noticed the same trend, with the Red Cross telling Aftenposten that they had received around NOK 6.5 million (nearly USD 1.2 million) in the first week after the attacks compared with under NOK 2 million (over USD 360,000) beforehand. The organization is sending 160 tons of food to Somalia. Norwegian Church Aid told news agency NTB that they were receiving around NOK 500,000 a day in the more recent days after the terrorist attacks.
The Red Cross and many other charities in Norway had already seen increased interest after the terrorist attacks. The Red Cross told Aftenposten last week that it now has around 890 new members and 2,800 new blood donors.
Norwegian Church Aid called on the government itself to give more. NTB reports that the Norwegian state gave NOK 800 million (USD 145 million) towards the Haiti earthquake appeal but has so far given NOK 263 million (nearly USD 48 million) to the Somalia hunger crisis.
Views and News staff
