US Pledges More Aid To Horn of Africa

Posted October 22nd, 2012 at 8:25 pm (UTC-5)
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U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the United States will give $58 million in aid to countries in the Horn of Africa.

In a statement Monday, Clinton said the humanitarian situation in the region is fragile, with more than 9 million people in need of assistance because of conflict, flooding, drought and economic problems.

She said that although the famine in Somalia has ended, more than 2 million people in that country still need humanitarian aid.

Years of conflict in Somalia coupled with prolonged drought has left 1 million Somalis living in the region as refugees. More than half of those refugees live in neighboring Kenya.

U.N. agencies have asked for more than $1 billion this year to meet Somalia's humanitarian needs.

The U.S. State Department says the United States has given $1.3 billion in emergency assistance since 2011 to affected people in Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti.