U.N. experts said Thursday that more than 38,000 Somali children are at "high risk" of dying from starvation despite hunger levels improving by nearly a third across the nation. The assessment, which was based on data collected by the United Nations, came just over three years since intense drought and war sparked famine in the country, killing over a quarter of a million people. In total, more than 731,000 people, including 203,000 children who are severely malnourished, face "acute food insecurity," said a joint report from the U.N.'s Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNAU) and the U.S.-funded Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET). However, the total number affected is a drop of 29 percent from last assessments covering the past six months, with "relatively good rains" in late 2014 helping farmers. "Many children remain acutely malnourished, despite a small decrease in their numbers over the past six months," the statement said. "An estimated 202,600 children under the age of five are acutely malnourished, including 38,200 who are severely malnourished and face a high risk of morbidity and death." Three-quarters of those in dire need are those who have fled their homes, mainly because of continued fighting. "Malnutrition rates remain stubbornly high," U.N. aid chief for Somalia Philippe Lazzarini said. "The outlook for 2015 is worrisome." More than 250,000 people, half of them children, died in the 2011 famine.
