Akhir 26, 1432, March 31, 2011, SPA-- The number of people in need of emergency food aid in East Africa has increased by two million to nearly 8.4 million as drought continues to ravage the region, the United Nations humanitarian agency reported on Wednesday. Poor rains from October to December have led to substantial harvest failure, a decrease in water availability, deteriorating pasture conditions and livestock losses in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Uganda. The situation is exacerbated by conflict, lack of access, high food prices and human and livestock diseases, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said. The overwhelming majority of newly affected people, 1.2 million people, are Kenyan, according to the new assessments. Cross-border migrations have also been reported from Kenya and Somalia into Ethiopia, leading to increased competition for scarce resources and creating the potential for resource-based conflicts with local host communities. Acute malnutrition levels are increasing, with a recent survey in the Juba area of South Somalia recording 30 percent acute malnutrition rates, double the emergency threshold, while rates of more than 25 percent have been recorded in north-eastern Kenya and those in Djibouti are reaching 20 percent in the worst affected areas. "Of utmost concern are acute water shortages," OCHA said, noting that Somalia is experiencing a severe water crisis throughout most of the country, while serious shortages in Ethiopia have affected the lives and livelihoods of millions in the Somali and Oromia regions. The education sector has also been severely affected, as an increased number of school children and teachers have to migrate in search of pasture and water. In Somalia, more than 400 schools have closed due to the drought since December, affecting nearly 55,000 students. In Ethiopia, some 58,000 school drop-outs have been reported, primarily in the Somali and Oromia regions.
