UN needs $1bn for East Africa

2011-08-20 09:30

New York - Valerie Amos, the UN's emergency aid co-ordinator, on Friday called for another $1bn in donations to aid drought victims in Somalia and the general region of East Africa.

Her call for more donations coincided with World Humanitarian Day.

She said that the world's public had been generous in its aid to Somalia, but it was not enough to reach the number of people who needed help.

Amos said 12 million people in Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti were suffering under the drought and resulting famine. The situation in Somalia was especially dire. Amos said money, active volunteering or spreading the word about the need would all help.

Unicef director Anthony Lake told journalists in New York that the children in the drought region were especially suffering from hunger.

He warned said the crisis in the Horn of Africa was a "humanitarian disaster" that was on its way to becoming a "humanitarian catastrophe".

He said ten thousand children had already died, and another 300 000 were in danger of dying.

In total, 1.5 million children are affected by the crisis, Lake said.

- SAPA