High food prices despite good rains in Djibouti

NAIROBI: Most poor households in Djibouti still cannot afford sufficient food, despite an improvement in food security due to rains in the coastal belt and large-scale distribution of aid, an early warning agency stated.

26 May 2009

The price of imported rice, the main staple for poor households, increased by 6% in April, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS Net), said in its May food security update.

It noted that the UN Children's Agency (UNICEF) was concerned about high levels of acute malnutrition, particularly in peri-urban areas around Djibouti City and in the northwest pastoral zone. Admissions to feeding centres rose from 7,302 to 18,417 children between December 2007 and December 2008.

Read the full article on IRIN.