UN asks for $500m more in 2011 aid funding
GENEVA: The United Nations on Wednesday sought $500 million more in aid funding for 2011 as serious drought hit the Horn of Africa, bringing the total sum needed for 31 countries to $7.9 billion for the year.
"The most worrying development is the intensifying drought in the Horn of Africa," said UN aid chief Valerie Amos as she launched the mid-year review of its 2011 humanitarian appeal.
Major parts of several countries were already at the "crisis stage of food availability, nutrition, and livestock survival", the UN added.
An estimated 11.5 million in the drought-stricken areas are already in need of food aid, but "the number of people needing assistance will increase over the coming months," said Amos.
Earlier Wednesday, the UN officially declared famine in two parts of southern Somalia.
To help the millions of people hit in drought-affected Horn of Africa, the World Food Programme said it needed $120 million from the overall UN appeal.
The revised appeal is aimed at helping 50 million people and takes into account new needs arising from crises such as the conflict in Libya and the unrest in Yemen.
Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011
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