USAID chief meets Kenyans facing drought, hunger

USAID chief Samantha Power met with Kenyan community members on Saturday, as she continues an East African trip aimed at spotlighting a starvation crisis in the region. United Nations agencies, aid groups and others have warned of the humanitarian disaster for months that could happen in the wider Horn of Africa region, where some communities have suffered four consecutive failed rainy seasons.

Samantha Power, USAID Administrator said "The mothers that we met with who had the acutely malnourished children, all of their livestock had been wiped out, decimated by this drought. So we are talking about the massive loss of livelihood and the risk of the massive loss of life."

More than 50 million people across the East African region are expected to face acute food insecurity this year. Some 300,000 in Somalia and South Sudan are projected to be under full-blown famine conditions, the regional bloc warned.