Millions of Africans near Starvation: UN by AFP, BBC, Reuters 9:43am 7th Jan, 2006   January 6, 2006    Millions of Africans near starvation: UN. (AFP)    Millions of people are on the brink of starvation in the Horn of Africa due to severe droughts and conflicts, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) says.    The assessment adds to warnings from the Kenyan Government and aid agencies. "In Somalia, Kenya, Djibouti and Ethiopia more than 11 million people are estimated to be in need of assistance," the FAO said.    On Wednesday the World Food Program (WFP), a UN body responsible for distributing food aid, issued a similar alert. It said the situation in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia was critical.    The FAO says food shortages are "particularly grave" in anarchic Somalia, where about 2 million people need humanitarian aid. Severe drought has produced widespread crop failures across the south and the new crop about to be harvested "could be the lowest in a decade".    The FAO is urging international donors to respond immediately to the WFP"s appeal for 64,000 tonnes of food aid to avert hunger-related deaths in southern Somalia. "So far only 16,700 tonnes are available," it regretted.    The FAO says the situation is also "very serious" in pastoral areas of Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya, where people are already dying from famine.    In northern and eastern Kenya, prolonged drought is killing crops and the livestock essential to the survival of the largely pastoralist population.    The Kenyan Government has requested about $A200 million to provide food for 2.5 million people - almost 10 per cent of the population - over the next six months.    More international aid is needed to provide people and animals with water, restock herds and supply seeds to farmers.    At least three foreign relief organisations - the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Action Against Hunger (AAH) and World Vision - say immediate emergency assistance is needed.    The organisations predict the death rate among livestock could soar from 30 to 70 per cent.    "Communities may soon be wiped out since they depend entirely on livestock," the Red Cross said.    "It is vital that the international community respond by supporting the Government of Kenya appeal for food assistance."    Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki has declared a "national disaster" and ordered the military to help distribute food and water.    The FAO says fifth of the population of Djibouti, or 150,000 people, are facing food shortages as a result of severe drought.    It also says more than $A53 million are "urgently required to stave off starvation" in the pastoral areas of eastern and southern Ethiopia.    More than 1 million people are at risk in Ethiopia"s south-eastern Somali region alone and the onset of the dry season, which runs from January to March, is "expected to worsen the situation".    06 Jan 2006    Millions risk starvation in East Africa - FAO. (By Silvia Aloisi, 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 Organisation (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.    "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 specialising 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 Programme 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 favourable 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.    6 January 2006    Starvation looms in African Horn. (BBC News)    Millions of people face starvation in the Horn of Africa, the United Nations food agency has warned.    The FAO says Somalia has been worst hit by a drought in the region, where 2m need urgent food aid. The harvest there could be the lowest in a decade.    There are also food shortages in parts of Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti. Some 11 million need food aid, the FAO says.    A BBC correspondent in northern Kenya says corpses of cattle and donkeys are lying everywhere.    The BBC"s Adam Mynott says six children have died in the past weeks in Wajir hospital from hunger-related diseases and 15 of the 20 beds are occupied by malnourished children in varying states of health.    BBC Africa analyst Martin Plaut says the UN agencies do not use words like "starvation" and "drought" lightly.    The FAO"s Shukri Ahmed told the BBC that he was particularly worried because people are harvesting their crops at the moment and yet there is still not enough food. "There should be a lull in the period of hunger," he said. But food prices are still rising in both Somalia and Kenya, he said. He also warned that long-term weather forecasts predicted that the next rains in April and March could be lower than normal.    In Ethiopia, some one million people in the south-eastern Somali region could face severe food shortages, while another seven million need food aid, the FAO says.    On Thursday, international aid agencies stepped up their appeal for the estimated 2.5m people needing food aid in northern Kenya.    Nearly 150,000 people - 20% of the population - face food shortages in Djibouti. The FAO says it is conducting an urgent assessment to find out what is required to meet these people"s needs. "Communities may soon be wiped out since they depend entirely on livestock," said the Red Cross on Thursday.    Children, weakened by months of hunger, are starting to die of diarrhoea, malaria and other diseases, and the existing centres for feeding malnourished children are overflowing, aid workers say.
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