Wednesday, August 10, 2011

U.N. agency begins 800-ton airlift of food to East Africa


Associated Press

A southern Somali woman, with her children cooks food in an open area at a refugee camp in Mogadishu, Somalia, today. The number of people fleeing famine-hit areas of Somalia is likely to rise dramatically, a U.N. aid official said today. (Associated Press)

NAIROBI, Kenya - The World Food Program is sending 800 metric tons of high-energy biscuits to East Africa to help fight the famine in Somalia.
The U.N. food agency said tpday that the series of nine airlifts will be enough to feed 1.6 million people for a day. The biscuits are being delivered to Kenya for onward delivery throughout the Horn of Africa.
More than 12 million people are suffering from the effects of drought in East Africa.
The U.S. on Monday announced an additional $105 million in aid for famine relief efforts. The top U.S. aid official said during a trip to a refugee camp in Kenya that models show that hundreds of thousands of Somali children could die in the famine if there is not a strong aid response.

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