Letters to the Editor: Millions at risk of starvation in Horn of Africa

Maryan Madey, who fled the drought-stricken Lower Shabelle region, holds her malnourished daughter Deka Ali, 1, at a camp for the displaced on the outskirts of Mogadishu, Somalia.

As we prepare for Christmas and all that the season brings the debate continues as to whether the extraordinary suffering of people in conflict and drought affected countries in the Horn of Africa meets the definition of a famine.

Declarations of famine occur when at least 20% of households face an extreme lack of food, at least 30% of children suffer from acute malnutrition, and two people in every 10,000 die each day due to outright starvation or a combination of malnutrition and disease.