Elijah is severely malnourished. He receives special high-calorie food from UNICEF at the Provide Clinic in Korogocho, Kenya. © UNICEF Kenya 2011/Karin Schermbrucker.
Right now, 6.7 million children in the East African countries of Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya are in need of urgent help. More than 320,000 have severe acute malnutrition, meaning they are surviving on dangerously little food and need urgent life-saving help.
The crisis has been caused by long periods of drought, very high food prices and ongoing fighting in Somalia, which has caused thousands to cross the borders to Kenya, making already overcrowded refugee camps even more packed.