UN warns: 1.4m children could starve to death this year

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UN: World facing greatest humanitarian crisis since 1945

The world is facing its largest humanitarian crisis since 1945, the United Nations says, issuing a plea for help to avoid "a catastrophe".

UN humanitarian chief Stephen O'Brien said that more than 20 million people faced the threat of starvation and famine in Yemen, Somalia, South Sudan and Nigeria.

Unicef has already warned 1.4m children could starve to death this year.

Mr O'Brien said $4.4bn (£3.6bn) was needed by July to avert disaster.

"We stand at a critical point in history," Mr O'Brien told the Security Council on Friday. "Already at the beginning of the year we are facing the largest humanitarian crisis since the creation of the United Nations."

"Now, more than 20 million people across four countries face starvation and famine. Without collective and coordinated global efforts, people will simply starve to death. Many more will suffer and die from disease.



"Children stunted and out of school. Livelihoods, futures and hope will be lost. Communities' resilience rapidly wilting away. Development gains reversed. Many will be displaced and will continue to move in search for survival, creating ever more instability across entire regions."

Mr O'Brien's comments follow on from a similar appeal made by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres last month.

At that time, he revealed the UN had only received $90m (£74m) so far in 2017, despite generous pledges.

Like Mr O'Brien, he urged more financial support for the four countries. But why are they in such dire need?

Yemen

The pictures were among the most shocking of last year: emaciated children, clinging on to life with what little strength they had left. Four-year-olds not bigger than infants. And mothers unable to do anything to stop their children dying.

It is thought a child dies every 10 minutes in Yemen from a preventable disease, while half-a-million children under five are suffering from severe acute malnutrition.

The UN estimates some 19 million people - or two thirds of Yemen's population - is in need of some sort of humanitarian help following two years of war between Houthi insurgents and the government, which is backed by a Saudi-led coalition.

What's hampering aid?

Continuing fighting, lack of rule of law, poor governance, under-development.

A naval embargo imposed by the Saudi-led coalition, fighting around the government-controlled port of Aden and air strikes on the rebel-held port of Hudaydah, have severely reduced imports since 2015.

A lack of fuel, coupled with insecurity and damage to markets and roads, have also prevented supplies from being distributed.


South Sudan

UN agencies say 100,000 people are facing starvation in South Sudan, while a further million are classified as being on the brink of famine.

It is the most acute of the present food emergencies, and the most widespread nationally.

Overall, says the UN, 4.9 million people - or 40% of South Sudan's population - are "in need of urgent food, agriculture and nutrition assistance".

What's hampering aid?

Continuing fighting in the country that now has been at war since 2013, lack of rule of law, under-development.

Some UN officials have suggested President Salva Kiir's government has been blocking food aid to certain areas - a claim denied by the authorities.

Nigeria

The UN has described the unfolding disaster in north-eastern Nigeria as the "greatest crisis on the continent" - the full extent of which has only been revealed as extremist militant group Boko Haram is pushed back.

It was already known the Islamist group had killed 15,000 and pushed more than two million from their homes. But as they retreated, it became clear there were thousands more people living in famine-like conditions in urgent need of help.

The UN estimated in December there were 75,000 children at risk of starving to death. Another 7.1 million people in Nigeria and the neighbouring Lake Chad area are considered "severely food insecure".

What's hampering aid?

Boko Haram attacks, lack of rule of law, under-development.

There are still areas under the control of Boko Haram, which aid agencies cannot reach.

Thee have also been allegations of widespread aid theft, which are being investigated by Nigeria's senate.

There have also been reports of humanitarian convoys and warehouses coming under attack or being looted, either by government or rebel forces.

Somalia

The last time a famine was declared in Somalia - just six years ago - nearly 260,000 people died.

At the beginning of March, there were reports of 110 people dying in just one region in a 48-hour period.

Humanitarian groups fear this could be just the beginning: a lack of water - blamed partially on the El Nino weather phenomenon - has killed off livestock and crops, leaving 6.2 million people in urgent need of help.

What's hampering aid?

Continuing attacks by Islamist militant group al-Shabab, lack of rule of law, under-development.

Piracy off Somalia's coast impeded shipments in the past - however attacks have reduced significantly in recent years.

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Humanitarian crisis: What can I do to help?

The UN warned at the weekend that the world was facing its largest humanitarian crisis since 1945, with 20 million people facing the threat of starvation and famine in Yemen, Somalia, South Sudan and Nigeria.

Readers responded to our story by asking what they could do to help.

Here's some advice and some links for anyone wanting to donate time, money or goods.

UN: World facing greatest humanitarian crisis since 1945

Donating money

Most charities encourage financial donations above all.

"In the event of a disaster, we don't send volunteers abroad because we already have thousands of volunteers on the ground, already established and working in these areas," said Ben Webster, head of emergencies at the British Red Cross. Managing new volunteers "can make this a little bit trickier".

Lily Caprani, from Unicef UK, agreed, saying that "while we appreciate all volunteers... the best thing the public can do to help is to donate so organisations like Unicef can continue their life-saving work".

Donations to the disaster fund make a much bigger difference - especially when Gift Aid is used to add another 25% from the UK government. For the Red Cross, that resulted in an extra £15m in 2015.

Some of the main charities working in the regions highlighted by the UN are:

The Red Cross
Save the Children
Unicef
Oxfam
The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Yemen appeal, which partners with the BBC to raise funds

Volunteering abroad

However, there are still ways you can volunteer on the ground.

The UN has about 7,000 volunteers working in the field and you can apply online to join a pool run by the UN Volunteers programme (UNV).

You need to be over 25, speak English, Spanish, or French and have a university degree or higher technical diploma and two years' relevant experience.

"Yes, you can sign up to physically go to a destination," a UN spokesperson said - but "there is a very stringent selection process".

By joining the UNV's talent pool, you'll be allocated where your skills are needed. They are currently appealing for medical doctors to work in Sub-Saharan Africa, for example, among other areas.

"We recruit people with a desire… but we wouldn't field someone anywhere there isn't a need for them."

If successful, volunteers get all the same professional and security training that a full UN agency staff member receives.

But the United Nations isn't the only option.

UN Volunteers
Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) also works with volunteers in the field
Give a Day Global encourages travellers to donate one day of their vacation to volunteer for a charity wherever they are
Relief Web advertises paid or voluntary positions in the aid sector
Redr UK runs training courses to help people keen on volunteering overseas improve their skills and knowledge

Volunteering at home:

Most large UK-based charities don't send volunteers abroad, preferring to work with local staff instead.

But charities such as Save the Children, Oxfam, and Unicef work with volunteers in the UK in a range of capacities.

They have information on their websites about how you can sign up.

The UNV also doesn't just dispatch people to foreign countries - but uses online volunteering you can do from home to provide humanitarian support. That can include mapping data for safe transport routes, or translating messages.

The Red Cross run a similar programme through their Missing Maps Project - a collaboration with their American counterparts and Doctors Without Borders. Thousands of volunteers worldwide take part to map regions that are not well recorded.

In southern Haiti, they mapped parts of the country in a few days before Hurricane Matthew struck - maps that were used to get aid to people in the weeks that followed.

UN online volunteering
Missing maps project

Sending goods

Most charities don't accept goods donations, such as second-hand clothes, as they are too costly to process - often costing more to send than the items are worth.

"Whenever possible, we buy the items we need to respond to an emergency in the affected country or in the region," Ben Webster from the Red Cross said.

"This benefits the local economy by helping local markets and traders and helps us reduce transport costs and speed up delivery times."

But the Global Hand organisation can help you offer goods and services and partner you with people who need them.

Goods can also be donated to charity shops in the UK, which pass on proceeds to the charity, and you can volunteer your time to work in shops or on other UK-based projects.

Oxfam has a well-established network of more than 650 shops, which they use to turn material goods into funds for their overseas operation. Volunteers sort and price every item, sell them in store, online or abroad - and, in a worst-case scenario, recycle them so they don't end up in landfill.

Global Hand
Oxfam shop finder for volunteers

'Getting worse every day'

No matter how they ask for help, all the charities agreed on the seriousness of the current crisis.

Fay Hoyland, currently in Somalia for Save the Children, said she had never seen a situation as bad.

One clinic she visited in Garowe has had its caseload double in a month. "It is full of extremely sick children, and their mothers told me they are terrified their children might die," she said.

And with just half of the UN's appeal for $825m pledged so far, donations matter, she said.

"We're here to save lives, we're water trucking, distributing food and deploying mobile health units, but we need more money to be able to reach everyone that needs our help."

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Sir Mo: Act now to help starving children in East Africa

Sir Mo Farah has said it "breaks his heart" to hear how families are facing starvation in East Africa as he backed a UK charity fundraising appeal.

The Olympian said it "hurts to see children without food and water" and urged people to "act now".

UK aid agencies have launched a fundraising appeal to help millions of people facing hunger in East Africa.

Sir Mo spent his early childhood in some of the worst affected areas in Somalia.

He said: "As a father of four, it hurts to see children without food and water, but this is a reality being faced by parents in East Africa right now.

"The drought is really bad and there are millions of children at risk of starvation.

"I was born in Somalia and it breaks my heart to hear stories of how families are suffering."

Sir Mo spoke as he was named ambassador for Save the Children, one of 13 UK aid agencies brought together by the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC).

The DEC says at least 16 million people in Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia and South Sudan need food, water and medical treatment.

Drought and conflict are to blame for the crisis, says the DEC, which will broadcast an emergency appeal on the major television networks on Wednesday.

The government said it will match the first £5m donated by the public.

Last month, a famine was declared in parts of South Sudan, the first to be announced in any part of the world in six years.

The government and the United Nations reported that some 100,000 people are facing starvation, with a million more on the brink of famine.

A combination of civil war and an economic collapse have been blamed.

In Kenya, the country's president Uhuru Kenyatta declared its drought a national disaster and Kenya's Red Cross says 2.7 million people face starvation.

There is also a severe drought in Somalia and Ethiopia.

'Desperate for food'

Saleh Saeed, chief executive of the DEC, said hunger was "looming" across East Africa.

He said more than 800,000 children aged under five "are now facing starvation and will die soon if we don't reach them and act quickly".

"We are hearing that families are so desperate for food that they are resorting to eating leaves to survive. This is something no family should have to endure," he added.

"Unless we act now the number of deaths will drastically increase."

Mr Saeed told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the money raised is being used to provide water, sanitation and food.

"We're providing, to children who are severely malnourished, Plumpy'nut paste which is a miracle cure which really brings back children from the brink of death."

He said that, while it was important to talk about the long-term infrastructure of countries like Kenya, the areas impacted by the crisis were facing an "emergency situation".

Addressing concerns that some of the money going to the countries affected by civil war may be stolen by the government or rebel forces, he said the charities brought together by the DEC work directly with staff and vetted organisations on the ground.

Mr Saeed said it was "unfortunate" that the government of South Sudan was reportedly considering charging aid workers to enter the country.

He added: "We need to put it into perspective. The amount of money that is lost on fraud is actually quite small. The reality is the bulk of the money that is donated actually reaches people in need.

"So any incidence of loss or theft is no excuse and no reason [not] to help the millions of people starving."

International Development Secretary Priti Patel said UK aid has funded food, water and emergency healthcare in East Africa, but more support was "urgently needed to prevent a catastrophe".

She said the international community must follow the UK's lead "to save lives and stop the famine before it becomes a stain on our collective conscience".

"The world cannot afford to wait," she said.

For more information on the DEC East Africa Crisis Appeal visit:

http://www.dec.org.u

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UN chief: drought-stricken Somalia 'hangs in the balance'

British Prime Minster Theresa May and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called Thursday for more support for drought-stricken Somalia, with the U.N. chief requesting another $900 million in aid this year.

I feel it is much better to spend money on helping the starving - rather than spending money on bombs

They spoke at a high-level conference to address the Horn of Africa nation's deepening humanitarian and security crisis.

"Somalia now hangs in the balance between peril and potential," Guterres said. "Here in London we can tip the scales from danger to safety."

He said political stability has improved but the gains are fragile in part because "growing food insecurity" is affecting millions of Somalis.

Guterres said some 439,000 people are at risk of famine and more than 6 million are "severely food insecure."

Somalia is also facing new military interest from the United States, as President Donald Trump has approved expanded operations, including airstrikes, against the extremist group al-Shabab. Aid agencies have expressed concern that the military moves could endanger the hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the drought.

Pressure is growing on Somalia's military to assume full responsibility for the country's security as the 22,000-strong African Union multinational force, AMISOM, that has been supporting the fragile central government plans to leave by the end of 2020.

The U.S. military has acknowledged the problem. The AU force will begin withdrawing in 2018, and the head of the U.S. Africa Command, Commander General Thomas Waldhauser, has said that if it leaves before Somalia's security forces are capable, "large portions of Somalia are at risk of returning to al-Shabab control or potentially allowing ISIS to gain a stronger foothold."

Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, who was elected in February and also holds U.S. citizenship, has repeatedly vowed to defeat al-Shabab within two years.
He said political stability has improved but the gains are fragile in part because "growing food insecurity" is affecting millions of Somalis.

Guterres said some 439,000 people are at risk of famine and more than 6 million are "severely food insecure."

Somalia is also facing new military interest from the United States, as President Donald Trump has approved expanded operations, including airstrikes, against the extremist group al-Shabab. Aid agencies have expressed concern that the military moves could endanger the hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the drought.

Pressure is growing on Somalia's military to assume full responsibility for the country's security as the 22,000-strong African Union multinational force, AMISOM, that has been supporting the fragile central government plans to leave by the end of 2020.

The U.S. military has acknowledged the problem. The AU force will begin withdrawing in 2018, and the head of the U.S. Africa Command, Commander General Thomas Waldhauser, has said that if it leaves before Somalia's security forces are capable, "large portions of Somalia are at risk of returning to al-Shabab control or potentially allowing ISIS to gain a stronger foothold."

Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, who was elected in February and also holds U.S. citizenship, has repeatedly vowed to defeat al-Shabab within two years.

Somalia also confronts the worst outbreak of cholera in five years, with almost 690 deaths so far this year and cases expected to reach 50,000 by the end of June, the World Health Organization said in a statement Thursday.

WHO added that if the current drought situation continues, "famine could soon be a reality."

Charities working to stave off famine in Somalia are urging that the African country's debts be cancelled.

Save the Children chief Keven Watkins said the African country "continues to drift toward an avoidable famine." He called for "decisive action" including increased help from the World Bank.

Hundreds of thousands of Somalis, the vast majority women and children, have been displaced by a drought since November.
Somalia also confronts the worst outbreak of cholera in five years, with almost 690 deaths so far this year and cases expected to reach 50,000 by the end of June, the World Health Organization said in a statement Thursday.

WHO added that if the current drought situation continues, "famine could soon be a reality."

Charities working to stave off famine in Somalia are urging that the African country's debts be cancelled.

Save the Children chief Keven Watkins said the African country "continues to drift toward an avoidable famine." He called for "decisive action" including increased help from the World Bank.

Hundreds of thousands of Somalis, the vast majority women and children, have been displaced by a drought since November.

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