29,000 Somali children under 5 die in famine

THE drought and famine in Somalia have killed more than 29,000 children under the age of 5, according to US estimates, the first time such a precise death toll has been released related to the Horn of Africa crisis.

The United Nations has said previously that tens of thousands of people have died in the drought, the worst in Somalia in 60 years. The UN says 640,000 Somali children are acutely malnourished, a statistic that suggests the death toll of small children will rise.

Nancy Lindborg, an official with the US government aid arm USAID, told a congressional committee in Washington that the US estimates more than 29,000 children under the age of 5 have died in the last 90 days in southern Somalia. That number is based on nutrition and mortality surveys verified by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.