The drought and famine affecting some 12 million people in the Horn of Africa is being identified as the worst food security emergency in the world today. And yet agencies report that the crisis is worsening.
"The situation is getting worse," said UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos in a statement Friday. "If we are to avoid this crisis becoming an even bigger catastrophe, we must act now.”
According to the United Nations, the drought is the worst in 60 years and the emergency is expected to last for at least three to four months. Each day, thousands are fleeing the region to other parts of Africa to find relief and refuge.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that famine – which was declared in two areas of southern Somalia – could spread within one or two months without more aid.
The United Nations is appealing for $2.4 billion in aid, nearly half of which has been collected.
Non-profit organizations including World Vision and Church World Service have stepped in to help families that have been left to rely on food distribution programs after their crops failed and livestock died.
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