NAIROBI - More than 50 aid agencies have called for an urgent and substantial increase in funding and leadership to respond to the humanitarian catastrophe facing millions in eastern Africa due to the severe drought, warning that further delays will cost lives.

The agencies including Save the Children, Norwegian Refugee Council and Somali NGO Consortium said in a joint statement issued Sunday evening ahead of Tuesday's international donors' conference in Geneva that more than 14 million people across Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya — about half of them children — are already on the verge of starvation.

Regional Vice-President for International Rescue Committee East Africa Kurt Tjossem said conflict, insecurity and economic shocks have been driving suffering for years, now compounded by climate shocks, mass displacement is leading to more and more people in dire need

"We cannot repeat the mistakes of the past and leave it until it's too late. The time to act is now to prevent further suffering for millions of people across the East Africa region," said Kurt Tjossem, regional vice-president for International Rescue Committee East Africa.

Tjossem said conflict, insecurity and economic shocks have been driving suffering for years, now compounded by climate shocks, mass displacement is leading to more and more people in dire need. He said donor governments have proven very effective at mobilizing attention and resources for other humanitarian crises around the world, particularly when it comes to saving lives.

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The agencies said the current drought is compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, conflict, desert locusts, and now a further surge in food and commodity prices due to the conflict in Ukraine.

The organizations said the number of food-insecure people will rise from 14 million to 20 million by the middle of 2022 if the rains continue to fail, prices continue to rise, and significant funds are not surged to meet the needs of those in crisis.

"Not getting much needed international attention and additional resources at a time of historic need in the Horn of Africa would result in the loss of thousands of lives that could have been saved by a timely and at-scale response," said Heather Amstutz, Danish Refugee Council regional director for East Africa and the Great Lakes.

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Humanitarian partners have requested more than $4.4 billion in funding to provide life-saving aid and protection to approximately 29.1 million people in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya in 2022.

"Failing to act quickly will also cost more to donors in the long run and risk reversing the last decade of investments in building resilience and ending drought emergencies in the region," the agencies said.