Hundreds of thousands starving
Source: Agencies |
August 9, 2011, Tuesday
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A US aid official warned yesterday that hundreds of thousands of Somalis could die as famine spreads amid a visit to Ken-yan refugee camps by the wife of US vice-president Joe Biden.
Jill Biden visited the world's largest refugee camp, Dadaab, where tens of thousands of Somali famine refugees have arrived in recent weeks.
Biden's trip is the highest-profile US visit to drought-stricken east Africa since the numbers of refugees began increasing dramatically in June. She said the aim of her visit was to raise awareness and convince donors to give more.
Biden, who met two Somali mothers and their eight children during her visit to the camp, said: "I am asking Americans to reach out and help because the situation is dire. There is hope if people start to pay attention to this."
More than 29,000 children under the age of five have died in the last 90 days in southern Somalia alone, according to US estimates. The United Nations says 640,000 Somali children are acutely malnourished, suggesting the death toll among them will rise in coming weeks.
US Agency for International Development administrator Raj Shah said models predict hundreds of thousands of people could die.
More than 12 million people in the Horn of Africa are in need of immediate food aid, including nearly half the Somali population. The UN has declared five famine zones in Somalia, including camps for displaced people.
Jill Biden visited the world's largest refugee camp, Dadaab, where tens of thousands of Somali famine refugees have arrived in recent weeks.
Biden's trip is the highest-profile US visit to drought-stricken east Africa since the numbers of refugees began increasing dramatically in June. She said the aim of her visit was to raise awareness and convince donors to give more.
Biden, who met two Somali mothers and their eight children during her visit to the camp, said: "I am asking Americans to reach out and help because the situation is dire. There is hope if people start to pay attention to this."
More than 29,000 children under the age of five have died in the last 90 days in southern Somalia alone, according to US estimates. The United Nations says 640,000 Somali children are acutely malnourished, suggesting the death toll among them will rise in coming weeks.
US Agency for International Development administrator Raj Shah said models predict hundreds of thousands of people could die.
More than 12 million people in the Horn of Africa are in need of immediate food aid, including nearly half the Somali population. The UN has declared five famine zones in Somalia, including camps for displaced people.
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