Livestock are dying in parts of Ethiopia that are overwhelmingly reliant on their milk as deepening drought pushes up the number of districts in need of life-saving aid by 19 percent, according to a report released on Thursday. A strong aid response almost halved the number of Ethiopians needing food aid to 5.6 million since mid-2016. But the devastating drought was followed by poor spring rains this year in the southern and eastern parts of the country. Since the end of last year, about 2 million animals have died in Somali region, which is home to many herding communities, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). "If we don't act now, hunger and malnutrition will only get worse among [herding] communities," he said.

Source: Ethiopian News August 17, 2017 16:18 UTC