NAIROBI, 19 August 2009 (IRIN) - With about 4.5 million people in Kenya needing food assistance and neighbouring Somalia being described as "one of the most dangerous places for aid workers in the world", the humanitarian challenges facing the region remain formidable, say UN officials.

"The humanitarian needs are growing faster than the ability to deal with the drivers," said Jeanine Cooper, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Kenya.

The drivers include not only natural disasters, such as drought, but also global mega-trends, including the food and financial crisis, water scarcity, population pressure and migration, said Cooper during an event to mark the inaugural World Humanitarian Day in Nairobi.

In Kenya, she said, the poor performance of the rains had led to severe water shortages and contributed to the doubling of food prices. Malnutrition rates above emergency levels have also been recorded in the northern areas of Mandera, Marsabit and Turkana.

On 18 August, the Kenyan government launched a response programme with a set of interventions to deal with the effects of a fourth consecutive year of rainfall failure.

The interventions, which include buying up livestock and borehole drilling, will complement relief food distribution to some 2.6 million adults, 1.5 million children and 250,000 others in supplementary feeding.

Somali dangers

Since January 2008, 42 aid workers have been killed and 33 abducted in Somalia, according to Graham Farmer, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia.

"Somalia is one of the most dangerous places for aid workers in the world," Farmer said, paying tribute to the Somali staff of humanitarian organizations, who "continue to work tirelessly, endure the highest risks, and suffer the harshest consequences.

"In parts of Somalia, humanitarian space is shrinking at an alarming rate," he said. "In recent months, several humanitarian aid agencies’ offices and warehouses in Somalia have been entered, robbed and some occupied by armed groups.

"The true victims of these actions are the poor and vulnerable populations that the humanitarian community is prevented from assisting," he said, urging “… all those who control territory in Somalia to recognize and respect humanitarian agencies and to support their unhindered access to populations in need.”

In 2008, the UN General Assembly decided World Humanitarian Day should be marked on 19 August every year to increase public awareness about humanitarian assistance activities and to honour humanitarian personnel, in particular those who have lost their lives in the line of duty.

Said Cooper: "There's always an element of risk in the work we carry out."

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