Acorollary of Murphy's law states, "Left to themselves, things tend to go from bad to worse." Unfortunately, that statement aptly sums up the situation in East Africa — and in particular southern Somalia — which is caught in the clutches of a deadly famine.
East Africa's most severe drought in 60 years has devastated crops and livestock, triggering food crises across the region. On July 20, the United Nations officially declared a famine in two regions of southern Somalia, Bakool and Lower Shabelle.
On Aug. 3, the world body declared a famine in three other regions of southern Somalia, and it projected that the famine would extend to all eight regions of southern Somalia within four to six weeks because funding shortages and security issues are hampering the humanitarian response. The U.N. says that 3.2 million Somalis require food aid.