The United Nations has urged the international community to do more, so as to avoid a repeat of the humanitarian crisis that claimed over 260,000 people in the Horn of Africa back in 2011.
The UN refugee agency has warned that it might not be able to salvage the situation because it is faced with a huge shortage of funds.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees spokesperson, Adrian Edwards said that a repeat of the 2011 crisis was fast becoming an inevitability if the international community does not do more to avert it.
According to the UN, around 20 million people across parts of Africa and Yemen are living in areas that have been hard-hit by drought. Of this number, children and mothers are most vulnerable.
The world body also warned that fierce fighting and a lack of aid in South Sudan means that 100,000 people there are on the brink of starvation.
Earlier this year, the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said aid agencies needed $4.4 billion by the end of March to provide support for people in Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen.
The U.S. is historically seen as the biggest donor to the UN but U.S. President Donald Trump threatens to slash their foreign aid budget.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs say they have now only received 21% of that $4.4 billion figure and while no new deadline has been set they want to see the rest of that cash come through as soon as possible.
