Famine spreads further in Somalia FAO calls for stepped up
response - FAO today called for increased efforts to stem the
food crisis in the Horn of Africa as famine spread to a sixth
area of Somalia, threatening 750 000 people with starving to
death in the next four months. Latest data released today by the
Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit for Somalia (FSNAU),
which is managed by FAO in close collaboration with USAID's
Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET), indicated that
famine has spread to Bay region, one of Somalia's most
productive areas. Five other regions had previously been
declared in a state of famine. Together with ongoing crises in
the rest of the country, the number of Somalis in need of
humanitarian assistance has increased from 2.4 million to 4
million in the last eight months, with 3 million of them in the
country's south.