International aid for the Horn of Africa, hit by a record drought, reached $2.4 billion (just over €2.2 billion) at a donors’ conference on Wednesday, helping to avert a devastating famine, the UN said.
“Famine has been averted,” thanks to the efforts of local people and “donor support,” the UN, which co-hosted the meeting with Italy, Qatar, the UK and the US, said in a statement.
The UN had hoped to raise much more. To protect the people of the Horn of Africa region, which comprises Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Djibouti, Kenya and Sudan, $7 billion (€6.5 billion) is required.
The situation remains serious. Additional resources are urgently needed to avoid a return to the worst-case scenario, the UN warned.
The funds raised will enable humanitarians to deliver food and water, and provide populations with care and protection.
