UN: 13 million face hunger in Horn of Africa as drought worsens

WFP says three consecutive failed rainy seasons have decimated crops and forced families from their homes.

An estimated 13 million people in the Horn of Africa are facing severe hunger, the United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) has said.

Drought conditions have affected pastoral and farmer populations across southern and southeastern Ethiopia, southeastern and northern Kenya and south-central Somalia, with forecasts of below-average rainfall threatening to worsen already dire conditions in the coming months.

“Harvests are ruined, livestock are dying, and hunger is growing as recurrent droughts affect the Horn of Africa,” Michael Dunford, regional director in the WFP Regional Bureau for Eastern Africa, said in a statement on Tuesday