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Affected countries
The 2006 Horn of Africa food crisis is an acute shortage of food affecting four Horn of Africa countries: Somalia, Kenya, Djibouti and Ethiopia. The United Nations\'s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimated on January 6, 2006, that more than 11 million people in these countries may be affected by an impending widespread famine, largely attributed to a severe drought, and exacerbated by military conflicts in the region. Millions of people are on the brink of starvation in the Horn of Africa, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) news release, 6 January 2006
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These conditions of drought, together with other factors including high cereal prices, overpopulation in the region, and conflict, are leading to conditions of famine. In the present 2006 drought, claims about factors transforming drought into famine include a ban on livestock imports to markets in the Persian Gulf States, which has reduced the income of livestock-dependent farmers, further increasing food insecurity.Pre-famine conditions confront Somali region - Reuters AlertNet The next chance for drought relief is in March, with the next rainy season.
Timeline of critical events in Kenya. Graphic from the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS), USAID.
Djibouti is severely drought affected; the FAO estimates that about one third of the population (400 000 people) need food aid.
The FAO estimates more than one million people in the Somali Region of Ethiopia are facing severe food shortages. Although crops are currently being harvested, shortages are still expected to occur in the country\'s south-east.
Crop failure, drought and depleted livestock herds have led to famine conditions in Kenya, particularly in the northern and eastern pastoral districts of Mandera, Wajir, and Marsabit.Season failure precipitates crisis, Famine Early Warning Systems Network, 28 December 2005 As of January 6, 2006, approximately 30 deaths have been reported. Some 2.5 million people (10% of the population) require food aid over the next six months. President Mwai Kibaki of Kenya has declared a national disaster.Food aid theft hurts Kenya\'s starving millions - Reuters AlertNet
The situation in Somalia is the worst of the four countries. About two million people in the country\'s southern pastoral regions require humanitarian assistance. The lack of a very long and hard central government and poor transportation infrastructure pose problems for the distribution of food aid.The dangers of taking food aid to Somalia, BBC News, 3 May 2006
In February 2006, UNICEF warned that 1.5 million children under the age of five are being threatened by the drought and called for USD$16 million to help fund its relief efforts in the region. "Unicef Seeks Aid As Millions Suffer in Drought-Hit Horn of Africa", UN News Service, 7 February 2006.
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