Priyanka Chopra Sends Urgent Message During Visit To Kenya [VIDEO]

Priyanka revealed that the current situation hit her on a personal level and that she was in the country to witness it first-hand.

Priyanka Chopra Sends Urgent Message During Visit To Kenya [VIDEO]
Collage image of Priyanka Chopra on a roadtrip in Kenya on October 17, 2022. /INSTAGRAM.PRIYANKA CHOPRA

Indian actress Priyanka Chopra has urged her millions of fans across the world to support efforts by the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) to end the hunger crisis in Kenya.

An email seen by Viral Tea revealed that she is currently in Lodwar, Turkana County for a high-level mission as a Global UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.

"We will be hosting UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, Priyanka Chopra Jonas at a high-level mission next week to Lodwar, Turkana County on Tuesday, October 18, 2022, to understand the impact of the ongoing drought situation in Kenya and the Horn of Africa," the email read in part.

Through a video she shared on her Instagram account on Monday, October 17, Priyanka revealed that the current situation hit her on a personal level and that she was in the country to witness it first-hand.

Here is the video:

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A post shared by Priyanka (@priyankachopra)

“I am very uneasy today. My mind is in a million places at one time, I am really feeling on the edge. It's been this way since I boarded my flight from LA.

"I am in Kenya with UNICEF to see first-hand the severe crisis that is unfolding. And as a new mother, it really hits differently. I know it's going to be tough but I want to take you on this journey," she explained.

Priyanka embedded a number of news reports in her video depicting the drought situation that has been affecting the East African region for quite a while as she urged her followers not to ignore the devastating effects of climate change.

"Children are starving to death and millions are on the brink of starvation. This is the face of the climate crisis, and here in Kenya, it’s happening right now.

"But, there is hope and there are solutions. Over the next few days, I’ll be showing UNICEF's immense efforts happening on the ground to save lives. But in order to reverse this unprecedented crisis, money is desperately needed to ensure the good work continues," she subsequently captioned.

She availed a link for Kenyans and the rest of the world to donate to help stem the crisis. The link is available here.

"In the words of Licbeg Kisika, a teacher I met today who is struggling to fund the school he runs in Sopel village with UNICEF, “What you think is small, is the small that I don’t have,” she concluded.

Priyanka and her husband Nick Jonas welcomed daughter Malti Marie Chopra Jonas in January this year via a surrogate. She reportedly arrived in the country over the weekend and shared a selfie with the members on her Instagram account donning a black UNICEF cap, followed by a video of her onboard a local flight, whereby she confessed to her fear of flying.

An estimated 3.1 million people in the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) of Kenya are severely food insecure following three consecutive poor rainy seasons that have hampered crop production.

President William Ruto's administration has been taking the necessary steps to combat the drought situation in Kenya. On Monday, September 26, he directed his deputy, Rigathi Gachagua, to convene a crisis meeting to harmonise interventions aimed at mitigating the effects of the severe drought in almost 20 counties, a meeting which also brought together county governors.

This is after the United Nations (UN) warned of a looming crisis, placing over 3.5 million people at risk due to drought in the Horn of Africa. UN had warned that the number had more than tripled in the past six months- rising from 1.1 million. 

"We cannot afford to waste another moment debating the merits of doing something vis a vis doing nothing. It will soon be too late to reverse the course of events.”

"3.1 million residents of these ASALs are now severely food-insecure on account of scarce rainfall over three consecutive seasons, leading to poor crop and pasture. This unprecedented confluence of intensely adverse events has exacerbated water scarcity and starvation, worsened by rising food prices, thus complicating Kenya’s roadmap towards delivering good quality of life to our citizens," Ruto addressed during the 77th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, USA on Wednesday, September 21.

President William Ruto, First Lady Rachel Ruto and US President Joe Biden. /FILE