New York, US - The UN on Wednesday declared famine in three more areas in drought-ravaged Somalia, bringing to five the number of regions in the Horn of Africa country where acute malnutrition and starvation have already claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people. The UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, Mark Bowden, said in statement that, 'the Afgoye corridor outside Mogadishu, the capital city itself, and the Middle Shabelle region are now in a state of famine.'

PANA recalled that on 20 July, the UN declared famine in Lower Shabelle and in southern Bakool region.

According to the statement, 'a famine can be declared only when certain measures of mortality, malnutrition and hunger are met.'

It said: 'at least 20 per cent of households in an area face extreme food shortages with a limited ability to cope; acute malnutrition rates exceed 30 per cent; and the death rate exceeds two persons per day per 10,000 persons.'

It also noted that, 'the spread of the famine conditions highlights the seriousness of the food crisis facing internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Mogadishu.'

The statement further said that, 'the declaration of famine in the capital follows the
massive influx of starving adults and children into the city in the past two months.'

Meanwhile, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said the appeal for funds to respond the hunger crisis in the Horn of Africa region, including Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya and Djibouti, is still only 44 per cent funded, adding that an additional US$1.4 billion was still required to cover unmet needs.

According OCHA: 'An estimated 12.4 million people in the entire region are in need of assistance.'

Also, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said: 'In the Dadaab complex of refugee camps in Kenya, whose population has swelled to nearly 380,000 in recent months, including 40,000 arrivals from Somalia last month alone, mass screening for malnutrition conducted in two of the camps in July revealed alarmingly high rates of acute malnutrition.'

The UNHCR said it had transferred more than 10,500 recent Somali arrivals to Dadaab’s Ifo camp extension in an ongoing relocation operation.

The agency also stated that it has airlifted thousands of tents to Kenya to accommodate the refugee population but an additional 45,000 tents are still needed as the influx continues.

It, however, expressed concern that Dadaab’s water resources could soon be overstretched.

Pana 04/08/2011