Somali famine deaths warning

Mr Mitchell arrived in Mogadishu and warned the crisis could become as bad as the devastating famine two decades ago which claimed 200,000 lives.

“Evidence of malnutrition is not just in the camps and feeding centres but on every street corner,” he said. “The stark fact is that in southern Somalia the situation is deteriorating by the day. We could face deaths on a similar scale to those seen in 1991-2 if we do not act urgently now. This is a race against time.”

Mr Mitchell announced a £25m Government aid package aimed at hungry youngsters which will provide up to 192,000 people with two months of supplementary rations, vaccinate at least 800,000 children against measles and 300,000 against polio.

He also demanded better security and greater access for charity workers to help starving Somalis.

“By responding quickly, we can save many more lives and avert a human catastrophe. Other countries must also maintain and increase their support at this crucial stage, or we risk seeing a whole generation of people decimated by starvation and disease and further instability across the region.”

The United Nations estimates more than 12 million people across East Africa need food aid because of drought. An estimated 12.4 million people in the Horn of Africa – Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia – are facing severe food shortages and are in need of international assistance. Famine has, however, already been declared in Somalia where tens of thousands have perished.

The UN also says death rates among the thousands who have fled the war-torn country to Ethiopia has reached alarming levels.

An assessment of the mortality rate in one of four camps at the Dollo Ado complex in southern Ethiopia found that an average of 10 children under the age of five have died every day since June.