A United Nations official says the world must help build “sustainable livelihoods” in the Horn of Africa to end cycles of hunger in the region.

The head of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, Jacques Diouf, said Thursday it is “unacceptable” that more than 12 million people in the region are at risk of starvation due to a severe drought.

Speaking at an FAO emergency meeting in Rome, Diouf said the global community has the money and expertise to help livestock farmers and crop producers defend against drought, but has failed to apply them.

The FAO called the meeting to discuss what it termed urgent and concrete measures to address the humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa.

Drought, famine and conflict have displaced hundreds of thousands of Somalis in recent weeks, with many of them fleeing to Kenya and Ethiopia.

On Wednesday, the Organization of the Islamic Conference pledged $350 million to help combat the crisis.

The U.N. humanitarian office, meanwhile, warned that crop production in southern Somalia will be “significantly below average.”