The UN and African Union are appealing for food donations and humanitarian aid particularly for Somalia where the drought situation is dire. Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya are hit by the worst drought in 60 years characterized by the displacement of thousands of people, loss of crops and livestock coupled with soaring food prices. It is estimated that 3.2 million people in Kenya are currently affected by the drought, 2.6 million in Somalia, 3.2 million in Ethiopia and 117,000 in Djibouti
Malnutrition rates in Somalia rank among the highest in the world with a third of the population in dire need of humanitarian assistance. In addition to the drought, the fighting in southern and central regions has considerably worsened the situation. More than 135,000 people have fled to Kenya and Ethiopia since the beginning of the year.
The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon convened an emergency meeting on 12 July and launched an appeal for donations. He said he was "extremely concerned" and emphasized that the UN agencies had received only half of the $ 1.6 billion needed for assistance programs in the region.
On 20 July, the UN officially declared that two regions of southern Somalia, southern Bakool and Lower Shabelle as the most affected and it is estimated that up to 350,000 people suffer from hunger in these two provinces alone.
Kenya is feeling the strain as it tries to cope with the needs of her people and the refugees from Somalia.
Islamist insurgents Al Shabaab, which is linked to Al Qaeda, announced last week that they were ready to allow foreign humanitarian organizations to operate in the territories they control in Somalia. Thus the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) has been able to distribute food like dried maize to the thousands of people who fled the capital in recent days. The director of the UNHCR, Antonio Guterres, has urged aid agencies to return to Somalia to help victims of drought once the barriers are overcome security
FAO appeals for $ 120 million against the famine
UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) appealed for $120 million to help countries in the Horn of Africa to cope with the drought. It will convene an emergency ministerial meeting on Monday, 25 July, to help Somalia.