UN struggles to raise funds to avert famine in Somalia

The United Nations has raised less than a third of the funding needed to prevent famine in Somalia, a spokesman said, ahead of a Security Council meeting on the crisis in the drought-hit country.

The humanitarian crisis is worsening in Somalia with more than 300 deaths from cholera and diarrhoea since the beginning of the year, according to UN figures.

About USD 864 million is needed for Somalia this year and so far only 31 per cent has been pledged, said UN spokesman Farhan Haq.

The appeal is expected to be revised soon to take into account the growing needs stemming from the risk of famine, he added.

The United Nations estimates that 6.2 million people -- more than half of Somalia's population -- are in need of emergency food aid, including 363,000 acutely malnourished children.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson will on Thursday chair a council meeting on Somalia that will focus heavily on stepping up the humanitarian response.

At least 260,000 people died in the 2011 famine in Somalia -- half of them children under the age of five, according to the UN World Food Program.

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)