That's incredibly shitty and exploitative marketing.

The truth is, the entire development charity industry is very problematic. Although it's been shown that relief organizations are often of vital importance in areas that are experiencing famine, drought, etc., it is also the case that many organizations whose purpose is larger development often have less success.

The changes that will keep children in Africa from dying are structural. I remember hearing a few years ago that there was basically no intra-continental transportation in Africa. Like if you wanted to go from the capital of one African country to the capital of another, you would have to take a flight from the first country to London, and then to the other capital -- in other words, there were no direct flights between African countries.

Many countries in Africa are actually growing more rapidly than those in Europe, N. America, or even Asia. Maybe the best thing would be to seek out products manufactured in Africa. Think of how economic conditions have improved (still not close to ideal, but much better than they were) the lives of people in China and India. The same thing can happen in the countries of Africa.

Also, and this is crucial, international poverty is often used as a way of blurring the reality of poverty locally. Which is to say, as unpleasant as it is to think about a child starving to death somewhere in Africa, it's way more comfortable than acknowledging that there may be a child just down the road from you who is also suffering from hunger.

If you have a limited amount to donate (and most people do), the best possible thing you can do is focus on the needs of your local area. They always need money. Not that those in Africa don't, it's just that distracts from the larger issue of global (i.e. everywhere, including here wherever here is) poverty.