Close to 20 million people are threatened with starvation as a result of the persistent drought in the Horn of Africa, according to UN reports.
In the countries of Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia, several years of no rain have severely affected access to water and food, while planned grain deliveries from Ukraine have been delayed as a result of the war.
Susan Otieno, country manager for the organization Action Aid Kenya, who is currently in Sweden, describes the situation as alarming.
She states that around 6.1 million people in the area are on the brink of acute starvation, while the hunger crisis is expected to spread further in the future.
- Women and children go without food.
We see in the statistics that we lose a life every minute as a result of starvation, she says in SVT's Morgonstudion.
"The world is not aware"
On 6 November, the UN's annual climate conference COP27 begins in Egypt.
Susan Otieno, who believes that the world's reactions to the drought have been late, hopes that the issue and the reason for the development in the area will be raised on the agenda.
- That is the big challenge, the world is not aware, she says.
- A dry season may come, but not as long as this one.
It takes it to the root cause: This is climate change, climate justice.
The outside world must become aware of this and I am here to draw attention to the countries in the north, says Susan Otieno.