U.N. declares a famine in Southern Somalia, citing $1.6 billion dollars needed for aid.

UNITED NATIONS (JULY 20, 2011) UNTV -   The United Nations declared famine in two regions of southern Somalia on Wednesday (July 20) and said it could quickly spread unless donors took action.

Following a Security Council meeting, U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon said 3.7 million people across the war-ravaged Horn of Africa country, or almost half the population, were now in danger. Of them 2.8 million are in the south.

"Today the United Nations declared a state of famine in two regions of southern Somalia. Southern Bakool and Lower Shabelle," Ban told journalists at the U.N. headquarters in New York City.

Ban appealed for urgent funding to fight the famine.

"The United Nations has been sounding the alert for months. We need donor support to address current needs and prevent further deterioration of the crisis. Humanitarian agencies need urgent funding to save lives. If funding is not made available for humanitarian interventions now, the famine is likely to continue and spread. The overall requirement is 1.6 billion (USD) for Somalia, roughly 300 million U.S. dollars is needed in the next two months to provide an adequate response to famine-affected areas. Children and adults are dying at an appalling rate. Every day of delay will cost more lives," said Ban.

In the worst-affected areas, half the children are malnourished.

Years of drought, that have also affected Kenya and Ethiopia, have hit harvests and conflict has made it extremely difficult for agencies to operate and access communities in the south of the country.

The south is controlled by al Shabaab Islamist insurgents, affiliated to al Qaeda, who are fighting to topple the Western-backed government. The group also controls parts of the capital Mogadishu and central Somalia.

In early July, the rebels lifted a ban on food aid which they had said created dependency. Some analysts say they are allowing aid in because they fear a public backlash if they do not. Others say the rebels want bribes.

Susan Rice, the United States ambassador to the United Nations blamed al Shabaab for exacerbating the famine and said the ban on food aid has only been lifted, in theory.

"This is not complicated. The aid will go where the humanitarian workers can gain access. The reason the aid hasn't gone in sufficient quantities into south and central Somalia is because al Shabaab has prevented those most capable of delivering large quantities of aid from having access and when they have had access, they've taxed them, harassed them, killed them, kidnapped them. So that's the problem. The question is whether al Shabaab will finally in the face of a massive famine and the worst disaster in the region in perhaps 60 years will allow its people to access the critical humanitarian resources and food that they need," declared Rice.

Nearly 135,000 Somalis have fled since January, mainly to Kenya and Ethiopia. An average of 1,700 and 1,300 Somalis are arriving in Ethiopia and Kenya respectively each day.

The U.N. defines famine as at least 20 percent of households facing extreme food shortages, a crude mortality rate of more than two people per 10,000 per day and malnutrition rates of above 30 percent.