Millions at risk as parched Horn of Africa faces severest drought since 1981 – The National

Millions at risk as parched Horn of Africa faces severest drought since 1981 – The National

With landscapes parched, animals collapsing and dying, and people fleeing to camps with only the possessions they can carry, the drought in the Horn of Africa is already causing acute suffering.

Yet the situation could become much, much worse in the coming weeks and months, with the UN having warned this week that several years of drought, coupled with inadequate funds for aid, could put 20 million people, mostly in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia, at risk of hunger.

Fears are high of a repeat of 2011’s devastating famine, also the result of extreme drought, when as many as 260,000 people died in Somalia.