Subscribe to one of our news e-mail lists . A massive drought threatens to cause a new famine in the Horn of Africa, particularly Ethiopia, and international aid is urgently needed to save 15 million people in eight countries, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Thursday. CNN's Gayle Young reports on the efforts to get aid to the Horn of Africa before a famine kills millions. Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K Annan named World Food Program Executive Director Catherine Bertini as special envoy to investigate ways to stave off the looming disaster. She will visit the region April 11-19 to determine what relief measures to take.
Aid agencies say widespread famine is just weeks away unless massive aid comes now.
Officials say 18 million people, including 10 million in Ethiopia, are at risk. Everything's got to be in the works now. In 1984-1985, a famine in the same region was blamed for the deaths of 1 million people. Heading off donor fatigue Annan said a million tons of food are needed. The United States has pledged to send 480,000 tons of food for all of Africa this year.