[ti:Millions at Risk as Drought Threatens Eastern Africa] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]Somalia, Kenya, and now Ethiopia [00:05.60]are warning of a severe drought [00:09.32]that threatens millions of people in eastern Africa. [00:15.88]In Ethiopia's Somali area, [00:19.72]people have seen the failures [00:22.72]of what should have been three straight rainy seasons. [00:29.56]Droughts do come and go over the years. [00:34.48]However, the lack of rainfall [00:37.64]has led to the driest conditions in 40 years [00:43.80]in parts of Somalia and Ethiopia. [00:49.16]UNICEF is the United Nation's children's agency. [00:55.72]Local Zaynab Wali told a visiting team with UNICEF [01:02.72]that she and her seven children [01:05.96]have never seen a drought like this. [01:10.44]She said the government gave out food and food for animals [01:16.36]during the last drought five years ago. [01:21.48]This time, "we don't have enough food for our family." [01:27.84]Children walk among the bodies of dead animals, [01:32.56]which are dying from lack of food and energy. [01:38.08]UNICEF said on February 1 that more than 6.8 million people in Ethiopia [01:48.40]are expected to need urgent humanitarian aid by mid-March. [01:57.16]Somalia Consortium works to improve international aid for Somalia. [02:06.32]It said in a separate statement that in neighboring Somalia, [02:12.60]more than 7 million people need urgent help. [02:18.88]It is asking international actors to give much more to the country. [02:27.28]"We are just one month into the long dry season, [02:32.64]and I have already lost 25 goats and sheep," [02:38.36]Hafsa Bedel in Ethiopia's Somali area told UNICEF. [02:46.08]She also lost four camels, a large desert animal, as well. [02:54.04]She said there is nowhere for her animals to eat. [02:59.84]She added that there is not enough food for her own family, [03:05.64]including her six children. [03:09.72]UNICEF estimates that more than 150,000 children [03:16.52]in such areas of Ethiopia have dropped out of school. [03:23.84]They are needed to help find the limited amount of water [03:28.92]and help their families with other work. [03:34.04]One young boy was seen supporting a work animal, a donkey. [03:41.56]The donkey was once important for transporting supplies. [03:47.84]But now, it had become too weak to walk on its own. [03:54.64]Gianfranco Rotigliano is UNICEF's Ethiopia representative. [04:03.12]He said during a meeting with the U.N., [04:07.24]"We have animals dying at an impressive rate, [04:12.28]which is increasing every month, and the death of animals [04:17.92]means lack of food for children, for families." [04:23.64]Rotigliano said some water sources [04:27.92]were drying up or already dry. [04:32.28]He pointed to the need to help improve these sources [04:37.40]and to build new ones. [04:41.04]He added that water needs to get to health and food systems. [04:48.12]Meanwhile, the country is experiencing conflict with fighters [04:54.52]from the country's northern Tigray area. [04:59.48]It has displaced hundreds of thousands of people. [05:05.08]The areas experiencing drought [05:08.00]are hundreds of kilometers to the southeast. [05:13.96]Rotigliano said this conflict has had no effects [05:19.40]on UNICEF's response to the areas seeing drought. [05:25.80]I'm Gregory Stachel. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM