As many as 17 million people have been affected by an emergency food crisis that has hit the member countries of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations.
The countries in urgent need of humanitarian assistance include Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda.
Inadequate rainfall last year during the months of October to December have fuelled the already worse drought conditions in the Horn of Africa.
