US commits $92m to Africa

2006-04-07 12:43

Washington - President George W Bush announced that the United States is sending $92m in aid to prevent widespread famine and alleviate the causes of hunger in the Horn of Africa, currently in the throes of severe drought.

The US said that the aid was in addition to more than $150m in emergency humanitarian food and other assistance America already had provided to the region since October 2005.

Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki said this week that 5 million Kenyans were facing food shortages as a result of failed rains, well above the 3.5 million people being targeted by international aid agencies.

11.5m people in need of food aid

The drought that had hit northern and northeastern Kenya also had affected arid and semiarid areas of Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Tanzania and Burundi.

Experts said more than 11.5 million people would be in need of food aid in the next six months.

White House press secretary Scott McClellan said: "This increase in funding will mitigate the effects of the crisis in the Horn of Africa.

"We commend the governments of Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti for their assistance in the delivery of aid to prevent another catastrophic famine in the Horn of Africa."

McClellan said the $92m included the use of money designated by congress for early intervention to prevent or lessen the effects of famine.

- AP