THE Dorset Echo is giving one final push to help raise funds for people affected by the famine in east Africa.

Readers have contributed an amazing £9,000 so far to help starving children.

Children in the region are facing a desperate crisis caused by prolonged drought, soaring food prices and conflict.

Children and women are the most vulnerable. More than 2 million children under five in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia are acutely malnourished, including almost 800,000 children suffering from life-threatening severe acute malnutrition.

The staggering amount of money sent in by Dorset Echo readers in just two months is forwarded straight to the Disasters Emergency Committee, who work with partner agencies on the front line.

It comes after the United Nations warned this week that up to 750,000 people could die in Somalia as the drought worsens.

UN spokesman said tens of thousands have already died in East Africathe Somalia’s worst drought for 60 years – where more than four million people have been plunged into crisis.

Echo editor Toby Granville said: “I would like to thank Echo readers for their generosity in raising £9,000.

“We’re giving the appeal one final push as the crisis shows no signs or easing and there are thousands of people dying and millions at risk of starvation.

“If any schools or local groups would like to get involved we would be more than glad to hear from them.”

The stark figures are that every six minutes a child is dying in the famineEast Africa. That’s 250 child victims every single day in the worst drought in 60 years to hit the country.

The situation in Somalia is particularly precarious. It has suffered from conflict for decades and Islamist insurgents al-Shabaab have refused access to most western aid agencies, including the UN’s World Food Programme.

Rains have failed for successive seasons, and families across Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya are struggling to find anything to eat or drink.

Hundreds of thousands of livestock have already died and food prices have rocketed.

If you are holding any fundraising activities contact Echo reporter Miriam Phillips on 01305 830995 or email miriam.phillips@dorsetecho.co.uk

If you want to help

We launched the appeal in conjunction with the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), an umbrella group for charities helping with the unfolding crisis.

The UN says it fears tens of thousands of people already have died in Somalia's famine, which has prompted Somalis to walk for days in hopes of reaching a refugee camp in neighbouring Kenya.

n If you would like to help please send donations or cheques, made payable to the DEC East Africa Crisis Appeal, to Dorset Echo, Fleet House, Hampshire Road, Weymouth, Dorset, DT4 9XD.