Somalia faces severe drought

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Copyright ) 2000 CBC All Rights Reserved Somalia faces severe drought WebPosted Fri Apr 14 17:38:13 2000 ET SOMALIA - Ethiopia isn't the only country threatened by famine in the Horn of Africa. People in neighbouring Somalia are facing a severe drought as well, and are in desperate need of food.

There is no government in Somalia and rival warlords are fighting for control - leaving people to fend for themselves.

Jonathan Veitch of UNICEF, says it will only get worse.

"For a lot of children, the situation is already very bad. And unless they get immediate assistance, they will most certainly die," says Veitch.

The latest statistics report 25 per cent of children in the region face malnutrition - a symptom of the drought affecting parts of the Horn of Africa.

Harvests have failed for the past five years and the dry conditions have created a dust-bowl.

The World Food Program and other international agencies are preparing for a severe emergency.

More than 12 million people in countries across the Horn of Africa are facing starvation.

http://cbc.ca/cgi-bin/templates/NWview.cgi?/news/2000/04/14/famine000414

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), April 14, 2000


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