The United Nations has officially declared an end to the famine in Somalia, but warns that nearly a third of the war-torn country's population is still in need of food aid.
The U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) said Friday that because of a good harvest and humanitarian aid, parts of southern Somalia have improved from famine conditions to a less-severe "emergency."
But FAO Director-General Jose Graziano warned those gains were fragile and could be reversed without continued support. He said: "We got this season more than 200 percent improvements in some food staple crops and we can do that (again) if we are able to support the farmers in this forthcoming 90 days. We have less than 100 days to avoid another famine in the region, that is the important message."
The Horn of Africa is emerging from its worst drought in 60 years. The drought killed tens of thousands of people, and forced hundreds of thousands of Somalis to flee to refugee camps in Kenya, Ethiopia, and the Somali capital of Mogadishu in search of food and water.
At the height of the crisis, three-quarters of a million people were at risk of dying. The FAO said Friday that more than 2.3 million Somalis still need humanitarian assistance.