UN declares famine in Somalia

The UN officially declared a famine in some parts of southern Somalia today. The UN alone says it needs $300 million in the next two months to provide adequate aid.

The United Nations has officially declared the food crisis in parts of Somalia a "famine" and reiterated its desperate call for more aid from donor countries.

“If we don’t act now, famine will spread to all eight regions of southern Somalia within two months, due to poor harvests and infectious disease outbreaks,” said Mark Bowden, the UN's Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, in a statement. “We still do not have all the resources for food, clean water, shelter and health services to save the lives of hundreds of thousands of Somalis in desperate need."

According to Mark Bowden, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Somalia, about half of its population (3.7 million people) is in crisis and about 10 million people in the Horn of Africa region are at risk for famine. Somalia is worst-off because of perpetual government instability and the threat of Islamist militant group Al Shabab, which have made delivery of aid challenging, CNN reports.

Mr. Bowden appealed for more aid on Wednesday, saying that the UN would need $300 million in the next two months to provide an adequate intervention.

The following are a handful of organizations seeking donations to funnel to the Horn's crisis, full story

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