Tanzania pledged 300 tonnes of maize for Somalia's drought-hit people during a visit by Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, a statement said Wednesday, August 10. A severe drought (the worst in 60 years) in the Horn of Africa has hit Somalia hardest, with parts of the country declared as facing famine and nearly half of its estimated 10 million people in need of humanitarian assistance. People risk starvaton, and Somalia's civil war is making matters worse.

Somalia is in the middle of its worst famine in 20 years, the United Nations said yesterday, August 9.

"This desperate situation requires urgent action to save lives," Mark Bowden, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, said at a press conference today in Nairobi, Kenya, according to The Envoy. "If we don't act now, famine will spread… due to poor harvests and infectious disease outbreaks." Already, there are about 750,000 Somali refugees in Kenya and Ethiopia.

"We are deeply touched by the current situation in Somalia where millions of people face severe famine," the statement quoted President Jakaya Kikwete as saying.

The two leaders also resolved to boost cooperation, notably against piracy by Somali gunmen who have seized several merchant ships off east African coast.