January 6, 2006
Millions on the brink of starvation in Horn of Africa, says UN
Reuters

Six million people are on the brink of starvation in the Horn of Africa region due to severe drought, crop failure and depletion of livestock herds, the United Nations said on Friday. The U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said about 2 million people needed urgent humanitarian help in Somalia, 1.5 million in Ethiopia, and 2.5 million in Kenya.

By Silvia Aloisi
Fri Jan 6, 8:50 AM ET

ROME (Reuters) - Six million people are on the brink of starvation in the Horn of Africa region due to severe drought, crop failure and depletion of livestock herds, the United Nations said on Friday.

The U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said about 2 million people needed urgent humanitarian help in Somalia. The situation was also very serious in south-eastern Ethiopia, with up to 1.5 million people affected, and Djibouti.

An FAO statement also cited Kenyan government estimates that at least 2.5 million are facing famine there and poor rains are only expected to make things worse.

Kenyan medical officials believe the death toll from hunger is already much higher than the at least 30 fatalities reported by local media as many deaths go unreported in the desolate and arid north of the country.

"The Kenyan meteorological service says the chances that the March and April rains will be timely and sufficient is very low. That could create a very dangerous situation," Shukri Ahmed, a FAO economist specializing in Africa, told Reuters.

The Kenyan government has appealed for $150 million to feed the hungry, almost 10 percent of the population, over the next six months.

FAO said additional assistance was required to provide water for both people and animals, restock livestock and give seeds to farmers in preparation for the next crop season.

In Somalia, the October-December rainy season was disappointing in most of the eight agricultural regions in the south resulting in widespread crop failure. FAO said the forthcoming crop, about to be harvested, could be the lowest in a decade.

It said that according to the World Food Program about 64,000 tonnes of food aid were needed there until June 2006 and that so far only 16,700 tonnes are available.

"Immediate response to the WFP appeal is required to avert possible hunger-related deaths in southern Somalia," FAO said.

In Ethiopia, despite favorable prospects for the main season crop, currently being harvested, severe food shortages were being reported in the eastern and southern pastoral areas.

"The onset of the dry season (January to March) is expected to worsen the situation," it said.

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