Britons donate £15m to help ease food crisis in drought-stricken east Africa

The British public has donated £15 million to help people suffering from severe food shortages in East Africa.

The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) East Africa Appeal aims to help more than 10 million people in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and the newly-formed Republic of South Sudan who have been left in need of food, water and emergency healthcare after the worst drought in 60 years devastated cattle and crops. The problems are expected to be compounded by a poor coming harvest.

Brendan Gormley, chief executive of the DEC, the umbrella body representing the UK's 14 leading aid agencies, said: "Desperation has forced thousands to leave their homes to seek help in the towns or camps, but some of the most vulnerable have been unable to make the long and arduous journey.

"Children and older people with weakened immune systems are often not strong enough to reach our agencies to access the care they desperately need.

"In some areas of Borana in Ethiopia, for example, aid agencies report that the proportion of older people has risen from around 5 per cent to up to half the population.

"The more money we raise the more lives we can save in the short-term and the more help we can give people to rebuild their lives in the long-term."

Donations can be made at www.dec.org.uk or 0370 60 60 900.