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Act Now to Avert Disaster in Drought-Hit East Africa, Aid Agencies Say

Reuters

   East Africa could suffer a repeat of a 2011 famine that killed hundreds
   of thousands of people unless foreign donors stump up funds to help
   drought-hit communities in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia now, aid
   agencies warned Thursday.

   More than 15 million people across the Horn of Africa are struggling to
   access basics such as food and water after consecutive poor rainy
   seasons destroyed their crops and left reservoirs and rivers dry,
   British charity Oxfam said.

   A famine in Somalia in 2011 caused by drought and war killed more than
   260,000 people.

   "We cannot wait until images of malnourished people and dead animals
   fill our television screens. We need to act now to avert disaster,"
   said Oxfam's regional director for the Horn of Africa Lydia Zigomo in a
   statement. "Once again it is the poorest and most vulnerable who are
   bearing the brunt."

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