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Drought crisis in Horn of Africa remains dire
29.08.2011 09:02 "Agro Perspectiva" (Kyiv) —
Despite continuing efforts by humanitarian agencies to scale up their response to the Horn of Africa drought crisis, the situation continues to deteriorate, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs OCHA.
The sheer scope of the disaster, access and logistical constraints, poor harvests, unfavorable weather outlook and shortfall in food supply and funding continue to pose a major challenge.
The World Health Organization (WHO) says the incidence of acute diarrhea was alarmingly high in Somalia with at least 211 deaths reported majority of them being children under two years.
Tarik Jasarevic from WHO says the organization is now sending mobile health clinics into south central Somalia to help cope with the disease and other health complications.
OCHA says the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance is also on the rise.
In Kenya the number of people in need of assistance has increased from 2.4 million to 3.75 million, in Djibouti 136,000 people are faced with chronic food insecurity while in Somalia, relief agencies are only able to reach less than half of the 3.7 million people in need.
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