Millions facing severe hunger in Horn of Africa - U.N. food agency

World Food Programme (WFP) staff engages with the local community and beneficiaries of their programme in Wajir, northeastern Kenya, December 2, 2021. World Food Programme/Handout via REUTERS

GENEVA (Reuters) -The U.N. World Food Programme said on Tuesday that 13 million people across the Horn of Africa face severe hunger, calling for immediate assistance to avoid a repeat of a famine a decade ago that killed hundreds of thousands of people.

Three failed rainy seasons have created the driest conditions since the 1980s, with forecasts of below-average rainfall set to increase suffering in the coming months.