UN: Famine threatens some 22 million people across Horn of Africa

As the threat of famine looms in the Horn of Africa, the World Food Programme (WFP) announced on Friday that it is scaling up operations to support millions going hungry who “cannot wait” for assistance.

Report informs, citing the WFP, that the region is in the grip of a historic drought, brought on by four consecutive failed rains. The crisis has left some 22 million people across Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia struggling to find enough to eat, with numbers expected to rise.

Livestock are dying, and there are critical shortages of water and food. More than a million people have fled their homes and are now living in crowded camps, where humanitarians are scrambling to meet the overwhelming needs.

WFP said the drought is expected to continue in the coming months as a fifth poor rainy season is forecast later this year.

The agency is doing everything possible to support the most vulnerable people, but urgently requires around $418 million over the next six months to meet the increasing needs.