29,000 Somali children under 5 dead in famine

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44021514/ns/world_news-africa/#.TjsOdWNGZhk

By JASON STRAZIUSO
updated 8/4/2011 1:44:21 PM ET

NAIROBI, Kenya — The drought and famine in Somalia have killed more than 29,000 children under the age of 5, according to U.S. estimates, the first time such a precise death toll has been released related to the Horn of Africa crisis.

The United Nations has said previously that tens of thousands of people have died in the drought, the worst in Somalia in 60 years. The U.N. says 640,000 Somali children are acutely malnourished, a statistic that suggests the death toll of small children will rise.
Story: Famine in the Horn of Africa: How to help

Nancy Lindborg, an official with the U.S. government aid arm, told a congressional committee in Washington on Wednesday that the U.S. estimates that more than 29,000 children under the age of 5 have died in the last 90 days in southern Somalia. That number is based on nutrition and mortality surveys verified by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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