A Bob Marley single has been released to raise money for Save the Children’s East Africa appeal alongside a large-scale social media campaign.

The 1973 song by Bob Marley and the Wailers High Tide or Low Tide is the soundtrack to a short film about the crisis by film director Kevin MacDonald.

MacDonald had been working on a documentary about Bob Marley when the crisis in Africa unfolded, and said: “When I heard about the horrendous humanitarian crisis going on in East Africa I couldn’t help but wonder what Bob would have felt about it – and how he would have wanted to use his talent and his fame to bring money and attention to the situation – to motivate people to do something.”

Both the film and single can be downloaded for 99p from iTunes, www.imgonnabeyourfriend.org or the Bob Marley Facebook page with all funds raised in the UK going to the Disaster and Emergencies Committee (DEC) appeal.

High Tide or Low Tide was chosen, by the Marley family, for its lyrics “I’m gonna be your friend” which have become the title of the campaign, which uses the Twitter hashtag #beafriend.

Rita Marley said: “Not one child should be denied food nor water. Not one child should suffer.”

More than 150 celebrities or brands have so far agreed to promote the campaign through their social media networks.

Celebrities who have so far posted messages of support online include David Beckham, Lady Gaga, Elton John, Lewis Hamilton and Rihanna.

Organisations supporting the campaign include Universal Music Group, Yahoo, Facebook, Twitter and Google - who posted a link to the campaign video on their homepage on 18 August.