Somalia Famine Refugees Flood Kenya

Photo By: David Lienemann / The White House

The United Nations is warning that the famine in Somalia, brought on by drought and made worse by governance and civil war, could worsen, as the drought continues to plague Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya in the Horn of Africa. Dubbed "the world's worst food crisis" by Oxfam, as many as 12 million people are in need of assistance.

Tens of thousands of people, including nearly 30,000 children, have already died of starvation, according to the U.N.

Some research has predicted increased frequency and intensity of droughts in Eastern Africa, and global warming is thought to be increasing the risk.

Refugees by the thousands are abandoning Somalia for refugee camps in Kenya, like the Dadaab Refugee Complex pictured here, where Jill Biden, Vice President Joe Biden's wife, recently visited. More than 400,000 people are housed in a facility designed to hold 90,000, and as many as 1,500 refugees arrive there daily.

Biden also visited the Kenya Agriculture Research Institute (below), where U.S. Agency for International Development funds research into developing drought-resistant crops and farming methods.

How can you help? USAID recommends making a donation to an aid organization working in the Horn of Africa.

Photo by David Lienemann / The White House

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