Somalia famine: UN warns of 750,000 deaths

 

Some 750,000 could die in Somalia unless aid is stepped up, the UN warns

 

Up to 750,000 people could die as Somalia's drought worsens in the coming months, the UN has warned, declaring a famine in a new area.

The UN says tens of thousands of people have died after what is said to be East Africa's worst drought for 60 years.
Bay becomes the sixth area to be officially declared a famine zone - mostly in parts of southern Somalia controlled by the Islamist al-Shabab.
Some 12 million people across the region need food aid, the UN says.
A sixth region of Somalia has been declared a famine area by the UN, which warns the situation will only worsen in the coming months.
The number of people dying in the southern Bay region has now passed the threshold to be defined a famine, the UN says.
"In total, 4 million people are in crisis in Somalia, with 750,000 people at risk of death in the coming four months in the absence of adequate response," the UN's Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNAU) says.
Half of those who have already died are children, it says.

Read BBC article