EXPLAINER: A look at famine and its toll as Somalia at risk
By CARA ANNA
Associated Press
DOLLOW, Somalia (AP) — Within weeks, a famine could be declared in Somalia, affecting hundreds of thousands of people. Such a declaration is rare and a sign of the dire consequences from the worst drought in decades in the Horn of Africa. Famine is the extreme lack of food and a significant death rate from outright starvation or malnutrition combined with diseases such as cholera. A declaration means data show more than a fifth of households have extreme food gaps, more than 30% of children are acutely malnourished and over two people out of 10,000 are dying every day. Formal famine declarations by the United Nations and partner experts, are rare because data often cannot be obtained due to conflict, poor infrastructure or politics.