Following an invitation by the Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar, the President of the ICRC, Mr. Alexandra Hay, represented the ICRC at the Conference on the Emergency Situation in Africa, which was held on 11 and 12 March, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

The Conference was aimed at drawing the attention of the international community to the distress prevailing in those African countries which are struck by drought and starvation, and at ensuring co-ordination of the efforts made by governments and organizations to face this emergency situation.