As usual the combination of extreme poverty, war, drought and poor governance has left the Horn of Africa one cup full of teff short of starvation again.
Somali catastrophe 'largely unnoticed'
Owlia Yusuf Ibrahim's family used to be relatively prosperous
Drought in the Horn of Africa is deepening after the failure of annual rains, and the UN estimates that more than 14.5 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance.
The BBC's Adam Mynott reports from Somalia, one of the worst affected countries.
Owlia Yusuf Ibrahim has walked for two days with her two small children, Amina, who is six, and four-year-old Fatima.
They have come to the village of El Barde because they heard that the United Nations' World Food Programme (WFP) was distributing food there.
Weak and tired, they have eaten nothing since they set off.
Owlia has left her husband and three elder children in the bush looking after what is left of their livestock.
Three successive years of drought have decimated their animals. "We had 20 camels, 10 cows and 30 goats," she told me. "Now only five weak goats are left alive."
Full story http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7472109.stm
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Somali catastrophe 'largely unnoticed'
Drought in the Horn of Africa is deepening after the failure of annual rains, and the UN estimates that more than 14.5 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance.
The BBC's Adam Mynott reports from Somalia, one of the worst affected countries.
Owlia Yusuf Ibrahim has walked for two days with her two small children, Amina, who is six, and four-year-old Fatima.
They have come to the village of El Barde because they heard that the United Nations' World Food Programme (WFP) was distributing food there.
Weak and tired, they have eaten nothing since they set off.
Owlia has left her husband and three elder children in the bush looking after what is left of their livestock.
Three successive years of drought have decimated their animals. "We had 20 camels, 10 cows and 30 goats," she told me. "Now only five weak goats are left alive."
Full story http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7472109.stm
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