A million people in southeast face extreme food insecurity

At least one million people in southeastern Ethiopia are facing extreme food insecurity following a prolonged drought, a famine early warning agency reported on Thursday, saying the crisis had sparked conflicts over scarce water and pasture. There had also been reports of some children dying of hunger-related causes, the USAID-funded Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) said. The situation in the area, known as the Somali Region, could get worse in the next three months, it added. "Urgent responses are required to prevent an alarming escalation of a food insecurity crisis," FEWS NET said in an emergency bulletin. Government officials have estimated that US $40 million is needed to help save animals and to provide water and healthcare to affected people. FEWS NET said pre-famine conditions had emerged as a result of the poor rains as well as fast depleting pasture and water sources. The UN World Food Programme said earlier in December it had sent food aid to the region. The Somali Region of Ethiopia - an area the size of Britain - is one of the driest and most inhospitable parts of the Horn of Africa country. Average annual rainfall in parts of the region is 250 millimetres. Most of the inhabitants are nomadic pastoralists. FEWS NET said while food aid was the immediate priority to save lives, other interventions were also imperative. "Water, fodder provision and health (human and animal) interventions are now equally important," it said. The warning follows assessments by government officials who said the rains had failed in the southern parts of the region, the scene of catastrophic hunger in 2000 when some 50,000 people died.