UN receives just one-fifth of funds needed to prepare for El Niño crisis

The UN has received just one-fifth of the $202 million requested to prepare for food crises caused by El Nino in 22 high-risk countries, a top official told AFP on Friday.

The natural El Nino warming phenomenon, due to peak between October and December, is on course to be the strongest on record, amplifying the effects of human-induced climate change.

The expected droughts and flooding are likely to hit hardest in many countries already struggling with severe food insecurity.

More than half of the 22 highest-risk countries are in Africa, but others are spread across Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean.

The United Nations said this week that millions of people in Somalia alone already face high levels of hunger, with acute malnutrition among children set to worsen as El Nino hits.

The UN's World Food Programme (WFP) and Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) requested $202 million in June to support nearly nine million people in these countries.

But they have received only around $40 million, Rein Paulsen, director of emergencies and resilience at the FAO, told AFP in Nairobi.

"We have early warnings. We understand what's required... (but) funding is a very real challenge that's limiting our ability to do what we know can mitigate and minimise the impact of either flooding or droughts," he said.

It was all the more regrettable, he said, since the sum is low by international standards.

"It avoids the need for a much more expensive humanitarian response if the full disaster impacts unfold," he added.

Scientific projections on Wednesday forecast that the current El Nino event could lead to an additional 451,000 deaths worldwide by February as temperatures soar.

"Africa, without a doubt, will be hit hard by this El Nino phenomenon," Paulsen said, as it will worsen already catastrophic situations in several African countries caused by conflict, displacement and high levels of malnutrition.

In August, the Norwegian Refugee Council said six million people in Somalia are facing crisis levels of hunger, with more than 700,000 displaced this year -- 500,000 by drought alone.