East Africa hunger to worsen as El Nino strikes: UN

AFP, nairobi: Conflicts, floods and failed rains caused by El Nino have sparked a dramatic rise in the number of people going hungry in east Africa, especially in drought-hit Ethiopia, the United Nations said Thursday. El Nino, a global weather pattern that periodically wreaks havoc, is expected to last until early 2016. "Due to El Nino, food insecurity is forecast to worsen over the coming months, especially in Ethiopia," the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a report. "By the beginning of 2016 the number of people who are food insecure and in need of humanitarian assistance is expected to increase to 32.1 million," the report said, adding that "up to two million people could be affected by flooding." Since May, numbers in need have already risen by 6.7 million, from 18.5 million to 25.3 million people, the report added. While some countries -- including Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Djibouti -- could see drier conditions, other countries including Kenya, Somalia and Uganda are at risk of floods.

East Africa hunger to worsen as El Nino strikes: UN

AFP, nairobi: Conflicts, floods and failed rains caused by El Nino have sparked a dramatic rise in the number of people going hungry in east Africa, especially in drought-hit Ethiopia, the United Nations said Thursday. El Nino, a global weather pattern that periodically wreaks havoc, is expected to last until early 2016. Due to El Nino, food insecurity is forecast to worsen over the coming months, especially in Ethiopia, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a report. By the beginning of 2016 the number of people who are food insecure and in need of humanitarian assistance is expected to increase to 32.1 million, the report said, adding that up to two million people could be affected by flooding. Since May, numbers in need have already risen by 6.7 million, from 18.5 million to 25.3 million people, the report added. While some countries -- including Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Djibouti -- could see drier conditions, other countries including Kenya, Somalia and Uganda are at risk of floods.