Famine threatens Horn of Africa as global number of hungry people tops a billion

Millions of people in the Horn of Africa are again facing a major food crisis, the United Nations World Food Programme has warned. The agency blames the crisis on a “deadly mix of persistent drought, poor seasonal rains, conflict, and the cost of food, which remains high in many developing countries.”

It also says that “the impact of the global financial crisis is threatening to exacerbate levels of hunger and desperation” across the region.

High food prices are increasing the number of people worldwide going hungry, warns the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, which is raising its estimate of the total number of undernourished people to …