section_path: Activities by region/East Africa
section_name: East Africa
paragraph_text: East Africa
  
  On September 19, 2011, USAID and the Ad Council launched the "Famine, War, and Drought" (FWD) campaign to raise awareness about that year's severe drought in East Africa. Through TV and internet ads as well as social media initiatives, FWD encouraged Americans to spread awareness about the crisis, support the humanitarian organizations that were conducting relief operations, and consult the Feed the Future global initiative for broader solutions. Celebrities Geena Davis, Uma Thurman, Josh Hartnett and Chanel Iman took part in the campaign via a series of Public Service Announcements. Corporations like Cargill, General Mills, and PepsiCo also signed on to support FWD.
  
  After the Trump administration's closure of most of USAID's programs in early 2025, during an Ebola outbreak in Uganda, USAID-funded research efforts into Ebola treatment and prevention were halted in Uganda. During the previous Ebola outbreak in Uganda in 2022, USAID had funded contact tracing efforts, the supply of protective equipment, safe burials, etc.
  
  On September 19, 2011, USAID and the Ad Council launched the "Famine, War, and Drought" (FWD) campaign to raise awareness about that year's severe drought in East Africa. Through TV and internet ads as well as social media initiatives, FWD encouraged Americans to spread awareness about the crisis, support the humanitarian organizations that were conducting relief operations, and consult the Feed the Future global initiative for broader solutions. Celebrities Geena Davis, Uma Thurman, Josh Hartnett and Chanel Iman took part in the campaign via a series of Public Service Announcements. Corporations like Cargill, General Mills, and PepsiCo also signed on to support FWD.
  
  After the Trump administration's closure of most of USAID's programs in early 2025, during an Ebola outbreak in Uganda, USAID-funded research efforts into Ebola treatment and prevention were halted in Uganda. During the previous Ebola outbreak in Uganda in 2022, USAID had funded contact tracing efforts, the supply of protective equipment, safe burials, etc.