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With Clooney assist, US aid groups team up on Africa crisis

Jul 17, 2017 | 10:30 AM

SEATTLE — Eight of the largest U.S.-based aid groups are joining together in a new campaign to address what the United Nations calls the world’s largest humanitarian crisis in more than 70 years.

More than 20 million people are at risk of famine in nine African nations and Yemen, but Richard Stearns, president of Federal Way, Washington-based World Vision, says it has been overshadowed amid the controversies surrounding President Donald Trump’s administration.

Stearns tells The Seattle Times (https://goo.gl/tLU2bb ) that instead of competing for donations, the organizations — including International Rescue Committee, Save the Children and Portland, Oregon-based Mercy Corps — are banding together in an unprecedented appeal launching this week.

The Global Emergency Response Coalition counts Twitter and Google among its sponsors. Actor George Clooney narrated a video pitch for the campaign.