Posted 24 Sep 2009

A drought in Kenya has left around four million people in need of extra food and drink supplies and is affecting around 19 million individuals overall, it has been reported.

The drought is also hitting other African states, including Ethiopia, Sudan, Djibouti and Somalia, according to the Telegraph.

Food is becoming more scarce as harvests fail, bringing about an inflation in food prices, which, in some cases, is as much as 130 per cent.

Mohammed Khaled, the regional emergency coordinator for East Africa at UK-based charity CARE International, explained: "The situation is already becoming desperate in some areas. The levels of acute malnutrition are rising rapidly, especially amongst young children. We need to get more nutrition programs going as soon as possible."

In May of this year, the UN claimed that Somalia was suffering from its worse drought in around ten years and that 3.2 million people were in need of food assistance.

Category: Africa