Millions at risk as drought threatens the Horn of Africa

International aid agencies warn that drought threatens millions of people in the Horn of Africa region

NAIROBI, Kenya -- The children walk among carcasses of animals dead from hunger and exhaustion, a stark image of the drought threatening millions of people in the Horn of Africa.

Somalia, Kenya, and now Ethiopia have raised the alarm about the latest climate shock to a fragile region traversed by herders and others trying to keep their animals, and themselves, alive.

In Ethiopia’s Somali region, people have seen the failures of what should have been three straight rainy seasons. Droughts come and go over the years, but resident Zaynab Wali told a visiting team with the United Nations children’s agency that she and her seven children have never seen one like this.

The government distributed food and fodder during the last drought five years ago, she said. This time, “we don’t have enough food for our family.”