Dadaab

Brendan Bannon is a photojournalist on assignment for Polaris Images: "I first went to the Dadaab refugee camp, close to the border between Kenya and Somalia, at the end of 2006. Strangely enough, the camp was flooded then. The same parched ground recorded in my photographs was covered by 3 feet of water. Then, people were fleeing from the camp, not fleeing to the camp as they are today. Dadaab has become the largest refugee camp in the world, and Kenya’s fourth largest city: 440,000 people have gathered in makeshift shelters, made of branches and tarps. Experiencing Dadaab again last week was profoundly humbling. I was confronted with deep suffering and need. Slowing down and talking to people, I heard stories of indomitable courage and determination and of making horrible choices. Most of these people have survived 20 years of war in Somalia, two years of drought, and it’s only now that they are fleeing their homeland. They are accomplished survivors. One morning, I was talking to a family of ten. I poured a full glass of water from a pitcher and passed it to a child. He took a sip, and passed it on to his brother and so on. The last one returned it to me with enough left for the last gulp. Even in the camp, they take only what they need to survive and share the rest. What you see on the surface looks like extreme fragility, but it’s actually tremendous resilience and the extraordinary affirmation of their will to live." This post features a collection of Brendan's recent images from Dadaab refugee camp. They tell their own story. -- Paula Nelson (34 photos total)
A young Somali refugee boy and his terminally ill mother, Haretha Abdi at Dadaab refugee camp, near the border of Kenya and Somalia in the horn of Africa. (Brendan Bannon/Polaris Images)

Paper lanterns float along the Motoyasu River in front of the illuminated Atomic Bomb Dome near Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, western Japan. The Japanese city of Hiroshima on Saturday marked the 66th anniversary of the bombing, as the nation fights a different kind of disaster from atomic technology – a nuclear plant in a meltdown crisis after being hit by a tsunami.

People loot a shop in Hackney, east London, Monday, Aug. 8, 2011. Violence and looting spread across some of London’s most impoverished neighborhoods on Monday, with youths setting fire to shops and vehicles, during a third day of rioting in the city that will host next summer’s Olympic Games.

The shrouded body of 12-month-old Liin Muhumed Surow lays before burial at UNHCR’s Ifo Extention camp outside Dadaab, Eastern Kenya, 60 miles from the Somali border.The drought and famine in the horn of Africa has killed more than 29,000 children under the age of 5 in the last 90 days in southern Somalia alone, according to U.S. estimates.

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Paper lanterns float along the Motoyasu River in front of the illuminated Atomic Bomb Dome near Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, western Japan, Saturday, Aug. 6, 2011. The Japanese city of Hiroshima on Saturday marked the 66th anniversary of the bombing, as the nation fights a different kind of disaster from atomic technology - a nuclear plant in a meltdown crisis after being hit by a tsunami. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara) #

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An Indian Muslim girl wears a fancy dress as she waits for noon prayers to begin at the Jama Masjid, in New Delhi, India, Friday, Aug. 12, 2011. Muslims throughout the world are marking the holy month of Ramadan, where observants fast from dawn till dusk. (AP Photo/ Kevin Frayer) #

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Artists of the Havana Company warm up before participating at the Circuba festival's opening gala in Havana, Cuba, Monday, Aug. 8, 2011. More than 100 circus artists from fourteen countries are participating at the 2011 Circuba festival to be held in Havana Aug. 8 - 14. (AP Photo/Franklin Reyes) #

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Giraffe mother "Jujis" (L) looks after her giraffe baby "Thabo" in their enclosure at the zoo of Hanover, northern Germany on August 12, 2011. The 1.90 metre tall and 80 kilogramme heavy Rothschild giraffe baby will be fed by his mother for th next15 months. The Rothschild giraffe is among the most endangered giraffe subspecies with only a few hundred members in the wild. AFP PHOTO / HOLGER HOLLEMANN #

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Captain Max Ferguson, company commander of the US troops from the Charlie Company, 2-87 Infantry, 3rd Brigade Combat Team play with Afghan children during a joint patrol with Afghan National Army soldiers at Kandalay village in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar on August 8, 2011 while US troops launched missile attacks on Taliban targets in nearby Kelawai village killing at least three and capturing two insurgents. US forces push their counterinsurgency efforts to battle for the hearts and minds of the local population. TOPSHOTS AFP PHOTO / ROMEO GACAD #

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A Perseid meteor streaks across the sky during the Perseid meteor shower on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2009 in Vinton, Calif. (AP Photo/Kevin Clifford) #

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A youth sits on a window sill surrounded by flood waters in Tikiapara, some 25 kms west of Kolkata, on August 10, 2011. The strength of the annual June-September downpour is vital to hundreds of millions of farmers and to economic growth in Asia's third largest economy which gets 80 percent of its annual rainfall during the monsoon. AFP PHOTO/Dibyangshu #

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A Somali lady stands with several jerry cans of water, ready to be transported by camel in the town of Dhobley on August 11, 2011. Idman is suffering from malaria and severe malnutrition, but his parents have no money to buy him drugs. With no health facilities in the region, the family are hoping to cross to Kenya's Dadaab refugee complex, some 100km away. Hundreds fleeing drought and famine-hit areas elsewhere in southern Somalia stream daily into the small town of simple tin shacks and huts. Although Dhobley is just five kilometres (three miles) from the Kenyan border, the sprawling Dadaab refugee complex -- the largest in the world with more than 400,000 people -- is still a tough 100-kilometre walk ahead. AFP PHOTO/PHIL MOORE #

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TOPSHOTS Supporters of former presidential challenger and opposition leader Kizza Besigye try to run away from Ugandan authorities in the town of Masaka in Uganda on August 10, 2011. Besigye pledged to join in with the protests at a candle-lit vigil in the town of Masaka, around 140 kilometres (87 miles) southwest of Kampala. Army and police fired teargas at a crowd of opposition supporters following the service as they tried to make their way to lay a wreath at the house where the child was shot. MICHELE SIBILONI/AFP/Getty Images #

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Representatives of the 21st Annual Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival in New York walk with a dragon head on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange before ringing the closing bell on August 11, 2011. US stocks made another dramatic comeback after a stunning fall on Thursday, in another day of extreme volatility in markets around the world. The Dow Jones Industrial Average battled back from Wednesday's 520-point loss with a 3.94 percent gain, adding 422.84 points to close at 11,142.78. The broader S&P 500 rebounded 4.63 percent, up 51.87 points to 1,172.63, while the Nasdaq gained 111.63 points, or 4.69 percent, to 2,492.68. STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images #

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A pregnant Somali woman sits by a tree trunk at UNHCR's Ifo Extension camp outside Dadaab, eastern Kenya, 100 kms (60 miles) from the Somali border, Tuesday Aug. 9, 2011. U.S. President Barack Obama has approved $105 million for humanitarian efforts in the Horn of Africa to combat worsening drought and famine. The drought and famine in the horn of Africa has killed more than 29,000 children under the age of 5 in the last 90 days in southern Somalia alone, according to U.S. estimates. The U.N. says 640,000 Somali children are acutely malnourished, suggesting the death toll of small children will rise. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay) #

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A Somali boy sings an Irish song to his classmates during class at the Illeys primary school in Dagahaley refugee camp north of Dadaab, Eastern Kenya, 100 kms (60 miles) from the Somali border, Thursday Aug. 11, 2011. The United Nations warned Wednesday that the famine in East Africa hasn't peaked and hundreds of thousands of people face imminent starvation and death without a massive global response.About 1,300 new refugees arrive each day in Dadaab camps in northeastern Kenya. The new influx are running away from a famine that is getting worse in southern Somalia as an al-Qaida-linked militants in the country barred some major aid groups from operating in its areas of control, worsening the situation of the most vulnerable people. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay) #

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People loot a shop in Hackney, east London, Monday, Aug. 8, 2011. Violence and looting spread across some of London's most impoverished neighborhoods on Monday, with youths setting fire to shops and vehicles, during a third day of rioting in the city that will host next summer's Olympic Games. (AP Photo/PA, Lewis Whyld) #

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A masked youth pulls a burning garbage bin set on fire by rioters in Hackney, east London, Monday, Aug. 8, 2011. Violence and looting spread across some of London's most impoverished neighborhoods on Monday, with youths setting fire to shops and vehicles, during a third day of rioting in the city that will host next summer's Olympic Games. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis) #

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The sun sets behind a mast of a fishing boat as kids walk at the port of Palouki about 300 kilometers (186 miles) west of Athens , Greece , on Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2011.(AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) #

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An Indian police officer hits news photographer Shekhar Ghosh, right, from the Hindi newspaper Dainik Bhaskar, during a protest against corruption by supporters of opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2011. Police used bamboo batons and water canons to control thousands of angry supporters of India's main opposition party who were marching in New Delhi to protest against the government's hosting of last year's Commonwealth Games among other corruption charges. Auditors slammed India's preparations and conduct of the Commonwealth Games last year as deeply flawed, riddled with favoritism and vastly more expensive than planned in a final report that could result in criminal prosecutions. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer) #

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In this photo taken Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2011, workers fix an electrical power transmission tower in near the Sports City under construction in Greater Noida, India. The Indian car racing fraternity is banking on the Budh International Circuit near New Delhi to kick off a mass following for motor sports with its maiden Formula 1 race this year. Even as workers slog overtime to get the venue in shape, officials are growing confident of the event on Oct. 30 changing the face of car racing in India, a country of 1.2 billion where cricket reigns and other sports take a backseat. (AP Photo/Gurinder Osan) #

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A Kashmiri woman removes lotus leaves from the water of Dal Lake in Srinagar, India, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2011. Dal Lake is famous for its natural beauty and a popular destination for both Indian and foreign tourists. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan) #

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An Indian police officer looks from behind his rain covered shield during a monsoon rain shower as he and others stand guard at a protest by the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2011. According to local news reports , India's monsoon rain index rose nearly 14 percent in the last week, an increase over the previous period where rain levels were down. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer) #

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Street beggars use a plastic sheet to take shelter from rain in Srinagar, India, Friday, Aug.12, 2011. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan) #

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Indian Muslim boys stand on a platform to offer prayers at a mosque in Allahabad, India, Friday, Aug. 12, 2011. Muslims throughout the world are marking the month of Ramadan, the holiest month in Islamic calendar where observants fast from dawn till dusk. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh) #

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Indian Muslim men smoke as they break the Ramadan fast near the Jama Masjid in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2011. Muslims around the world are marking the holy fasting month of Ramadan, where the observant fast from dawn until dusk. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer) #

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Ultra-Orthodox Jews attend a prayer as they gather in the religious neighborhood of Mea Shearim to protest against summer events organized by the city council, Jerusalem, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2011. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue) #

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Somali boys walk in the Dagahaley refugee camp north of Dadaab, Eastern Kenya, 100 kms (60 miles) from the Somali border, Thursday Aug. 11, 2011. The United Nations warned Wednesday that the famine in East Africa hasn't peaked and hundreds of thousands of people face imminent starvation and death without a massive global response. About 1,300 new refugees arrive each day in Dadaab camps in northeastern Kenya. The new influx are running away from a famine that is getting worse in southern Somalia as an al-Qaida-linked militants in the country barred some major aid groups from operating in its areas of control, worsening the situation of the most vulnerable people. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay) #

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The shrouded body of 12-month-old Liin Muhumed Surow lays before burial at UNHCR's Ifo Extention camp outside Dadaab, Eastern Kenya, 100 km (60 miles) from the Somali border,Saturday Aug. 6, 2011. Liin died of malnutrition 25 days after reaching the camp, her father Mumumed said. The drought and famine in the horn of Africa has killed more than 29,000 children under the age of 5 in the last 90 days in southern Somalia alone, according to U.S. estimates. The U.N. says 640,000 Somali children are acutely malnourished, suggesting the death toll of small children will rise. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay) #

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Muhumed Surow grieves following the burial of his 12-month-old daughter Liin Muhumed Surowlays at UNHCR's Ifo Extention camp outside Dadaab, Eastern Kenya, 100 km (60 miles) from the Somali border, Saturday Aug. 6, 2011. Liin died of malnutrition 25 days after reaching the camp, Mumumed said. The drought and famine in the horn of Africa has killed more than 29,000 children under the age of 5 in the last 90 days in southern Somalia alone, according to U.S. estimates. The U.N. says 640,000 Somali children are acutely malnourished, suggesting the death toll of small children will rise. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay) #

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In this Monday, Aug. 8, 2011 photo, U.S. Army Pvt. 1st Class David Hedge from Bealeton, Va., front, and fellow soldiers from 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment are bathed in rotor wash moments after arriving by Blackhawk helicopter for an operation to disrupt weapons smuggling in Istaqlal, north of Baghdad, Iraq. A radical anti-American Shiite cleric is calling on U.S. troops in Iraq to leave the country and go back to their families or risk more attacks. The rare statement by Muqtada al-Sadr was translated into English and posted Tuesday on his website. In it, the powerful Iraqi cleric appeals directly to the roughly 46,000 U.S. troops still in the country. He says Iraq does not need their help.(AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo) #

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An Ultra-orthodox Jewish man sleeps as others pray during the mourning ritual of Tisha B'Av at the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray, in Jerusalem's Old City, Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2011. The Jewish holy day of Tisha B'Av, when Jews mourn the destruction of the biblical temples, is marked Tuesday. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue) #

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A Palestinian baby sleeps in his carrycot while Palestinian women attempt to pass the checkpoint on their way to pray at the Al Aqsa Mosque on the second Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, Aug. 12, 2011. Muslims around the world are observing the holy fasting month of Ramadan where they refrain from eating, drinking, smoking from dawn to dusk. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue) #

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In this photo taken on a government-organized tour a woman holds up an image of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi during a protest in front of the Hungarian embassy in Tripoli, Libya, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2011. Dozens of reported residents of the town of Majar, where the Libyan government claims that 85 civilians were killed in a NATO airstrike last Aug. 9, protested in front of the Hungarian embassy which is currently representing the U.S and the European Union interests in Libya, to demand a stop to the NATO airstrikes. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills) #

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This image released by the District Governor of Spitsbergen's office shows the dead male polar bear which had attacked youths who were camping on a remote Arctic glacier as part of a high-end adventure holiday at Spitsbergen, Svalbard archipelago, in Norway, Friday, Aug. 5, 2011 . The polar bear was shot and killed by other members of the group. The attack took place on the Svalbard archipelago, which is home to about 2,400 people and 3,000 polar bears and one British youth was killed in the attack. (AP Photo / Arild Lyssand / District governor of Spitsbergens office / via Scanpix) NORWAY OUT #

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Somalia Transitional Government soldiers prepare to take positions near Mogadishu, Somalia stadium Sunday Aug, 7, 2011, after a brief fight with Al Shabaab fighters. Islamist fighters withdrew Saturday from almost all their bases in the famine-struck Somali capital, the most significant gain for the embattled U.N.-backed government in four years. Commanders toured newly abandoned positions Saturday, including a former sports stadium where the militia's tire marks were fresh in the grass.(AP Photo/ Farah Abdi Warsameh). #

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A jockey races along the beach during the traditional beach race on the Sanlucar de Barrameda's beach in southern Spain, on Aug. 10, 2011. Sanlucar horse racing dates back to 1845 and is one of the oldest in Europe; it currently takes place near the mouth of the Rio Guadalquivir several times during the month of August. (AP Photo/Miguel Gomez) #

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Riot police block supporters of former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko outside the Pecherskiy District Court in Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, Aug. 5, 2011. A court in the Ukrainian capital has arrested former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko for violations of procedure during her abuse-of-office trial. Tymoshenko, the country's top opposition leader, has criticized the trial as an attempt by President Viktor Yanukovych to bar her from elections. She has refused, as required, to stand up while addressing the judge, repeatedly insulted him and questioned his objectivity. Her supporters also have repeatedly disrupted hearings. (AP Photo/Sergey Svetlitsky) #

Somalia is suffering its worst drought and famine in 60 years. Getting aid to the country has been difficult because al-Qaida-linked militants control much of the country’s most desperate areas.

The U.N.’s food arm said that famine is likely to spread across all regions of Somalia’s south in the next four to six weeks. Famine conditions are likely to persist until December, the Food and Agriculture Organization said.

Across Somalia, 3.7 million people are in crisis, the U.N. says, out of a population of 7.5 million. The U.N. says 3.2 million are in need of immediate, lifesaving assistance.

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A malnourished child in a hospital in Mogadishu, Somalia, July 27, 2011. The al-Qaida-linked militant group al-Shabab, which controls much of southern Somalia, is blocking starving people from fleeing the country and setting up a cantonment camp where it is imprisoning displaced people who were trying to escape Shabab territory. (Tyler Hicks/The New York Times) #

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Kufow Ali Abdi carried the body of his 3-year-old daughter, Kadija, who had just died from measles at the hospital in Mogadishu, July 28, 2011. "I just hope they can save the others," he said, referring to his two remaining children, who were down to skin and bone. The al-Shabab Islamist insurgent group, which controls much of southern Somalia, is blocking starving people from fleeing the country and setting up a cantonment camp where it is imprisoning displaced people who were trying to escape al-Shabab territory. (Tyler Hicks/The New York Times) #

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A woman sits next to a child suffering from malnutrition at Banadir hospital in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, July 28, 2011. The al-Qaida-linked militant group al-Shabab, which controls much of southern Somalia, is blocking starving people from fleeing the country and setting up a cantonment camp where it is imprisoning displaced people who were trying to escape Shabab territory. (Tyler Hicks/The New York Times) #

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Flies cover the face of a boy suffering from malnutrition at a hospital in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, July 28, 2011. The al-Shabab Islamist insurgent group in Somalia is widely blamed for causing a famine by forcing out many Western aid organizations, depriving drought victims of desperately needed food and blocking starving people from fleeing territory controled by the group. The situation is growing bleaker by the day, with tens of thousands of Somalis already dead and more than 500,000 children on the brink of starvation. (Tyler Hicks/The New York Times) #

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A boy suffering from malnutrition has a scarf cover his face to keep the flies away at a hospital in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, July 28, 2011. (Tyler Hicks/The New York Times) #

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People displaced from their villages arriving in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, July 27, 2011. The al-Qaida-linked militant group al-Shabab, which controls much of southern Somalia, is blocking starving people from fleeing the country. (Tyler Hicks/The New York Times) #

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People at a makeshift camp in Mogadishu, Somalia. The al-Qaida-linked militant group al-Shabab, which controls much of southern Somalia, is blocking starving people from fleeing the country and setting up a cantonment camp where it is imprisoning displaced people who were trying to escape Shabab territory. (Tyler Hicks/The New York Times) #

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People who have fled their villages build a makeshift shelter after arriving in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, July 27, 2011. (Tyler Hicks/The New York Times) #

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A woman holds a malnourished child at a makeshift camp in the Somali capital of Mogadishu. The al-Qaida-linked militant group al-Shabab, which controls much of southern Somalia, is blocking starving people from fleeing the country. (Tyler Hicks/The New York Times) #

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Malnourished children in a hospital in Mogadishu, Somalia, July 27, 2011. (Tyler Hicks/The New York Times) #

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A child suffering from malnutrition is bathed at a hospital in the Somali capital of Mogadishu. The al-Qaida-linked militant group al-Shabab, which controls much of southern Somalia, is blocking starving people from fleeing the country and setting up a cantonment camp where it is imprisoning displaced people who were trying to escape Shabab territory. (Tyler Hicks/The New York Times) #

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A woman carries a child at a makeshift shelter in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, July 27, 2011. (Tyler Hicks/The New York Times) #

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A malnourished child in a hospital in Mogadishu. The al-Qaida-linked militant group al-Shabab, which controls much of southern Somalia, is blocking starving people from fleeing the country and setting up a cantonment camp. (Tyler Hicks/The New York Times) #

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Soldiers from the Somalian transitional government forces patrol the border town of Dhobley, Somalia, Sunday, July 24, 2011. Some thousands of people have arrived in Mogadishu seeking aid and The World Food Program executive director Josette Sheeran said Saturday they can't reach the estimated 2.2 million Somalis in desperate need of aid who are in militant-controlled areas of Somalia. (AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam) #

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Somalis displaced by drought wait to receive food aid in Mogadishu, Somalia, Monday, July 25, 2011. Some thousands of people have arrived in Mogadishu seeking aid and The World Food Program executive director Josette Sheeran said Saturday they can't reach the estimated 2.2 million Somalis in desperate need of aid who are in militant-controlled areas of Somalia. (AP (AP Photo/Mohamed Sheikh Nor) #

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A general view of the Dadaab Refugee camp in eastern Kenya, where the influx of Somali's displaced by a ravaging famine remains high, on July 23, 2011. The European Union Aid Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva has vowed to do all that is possible to help 12 million people struggling from extreme drought across the Horn of Africa, boosting aid by $40 million. The funds come on top of almost $100 million the bloc has already contributed as assistance in the worst regional drought in decades, affecting parts of Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Djibouti and Uganda. AFP PHOTO/Tony KARUMBA #

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A dust storm blows as newly arrived Somalian refugees settle on the edge of the Dagahaley refugee camp, which makes up part of the giant Dadaab refugee settlement on July 23, 2011 in Dadaab, Kenya. The refugee camp at Dadaab, located close to the Kenyan border with Somalia, was originally designed in the early 1990s to accommodate 90,000 people but the UN estimates over 4 times as many reside there. The ongoing civil war in Somalia and the worst drought to affect the Horn of Africa in six decades has resulted in an estimated 12 million people whose lives are threatened. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images) #

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A Somali refugee herds goats through the IFO refugee camp, which makes up part of the giant Dadaab refugee settlement on July 24, 2011 in Dadaab, Kenya. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images) #

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Warehouse attendant carry bags of goods donated during a funds drive by the Somali-community living in Kenya's capital, to aid Somali refugees in Kenya's north-easterly province at the Dadaab refugee complex, on July 29, 2011 in Nairobi. The African Union says on July 31 it will host a donors conference for Somali drought victims in Addis Ababa on August 9 as tens of thousands have died in recent months, according to the Food and Agricultural Organisation. Somalia is the worst-affected country, with some 1.25 million children in need of urgent life saving care, according to UNICEF. This month, the UN declared famine in two areas of the country, the first time famine has been announced this century. AFP PHOTO / Tony KARUMBA #

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Somalian refugees wait at the entrance to the registration area of the IFO refugee camp, which makes up part of the giant Dadaab refugee settlement on July 24, 2011 in Dadaab, Kenya. The refugee camp at Dadaab, located close to the Kenyan border with Somalia, was originally designed in the early 1990s to accommodate 90,000 people but the UN estimates over 4 times as many reside there. The ongoing civil war in Somalia and the worst drought to affect the Horn of Africa in six decades has resulted in an estimated 12 million people whose lives are threatened. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images) #

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A Somali refugee woman holding a bag of food aid walks past those waiting at the entrance to the registration area of the IFO refugee camp which makes up part of the giant Dadaab refugee settlement on July 24, 2011 in Dadaab, Kenya. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images) #

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Somali women and children wait for food to be distributed in the Doloow region, southern Somalia on July 24, 2011. The UN's World Programme Programme airlift of food for the Somali capital Mogadishu was delayed on on July 26, 2011 after efforts were hampered by last minute paperwork in Kenya. PETER MARTELL/AFP/Getty Images #

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Somalian refugees leave their hut on the outskirts of the Dagahaley refugee camp, which makes up part of the giant Dadaab refugee settlement on July 23, 2011 in Dadaab, Kenya. The refugee camp at Dadaab, located close to the Kenyan border with Somalia, was originally designed in the early 1990s to accommodate 90,000 people but the UN estimates over 4 times as many reside there. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images) #

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A Somalian refugee digs a latrine on the outskirts of the IFO refugee camp which makes up part of the giant Dadaab refugee settlement in Dadaab, Kenya. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images) #

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An elederly woman sits as she waits for food ratios at a feeding center in Lolkuta, near Wajir on July 21, 2011. The UN's World Programme Programme was preparing on July 26, 2011 to airlift food aid into the Somali capital Mogadishu, but efforts were hampered by last minute paperwork in Kenya. An estimated 3.7 million people in Somalia -- around a third of the population -- are on the brink of starvation and millions more in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda have been struck by the worst drought in the region in 60 years. SIMON MAINA/AFP/Getty Images #

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A Somali refugee rests on a wheelbarrow at the entrance to the registration area of the IFO refugee camp which makes up part of the giant Dadaab refugee settlement in Dadaab, Kenya. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images) #

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A young boy from southern Somalia takes cover under a plastic sheet in a refugee camp in Mogadishu, Somalia, Sunday, July 31, 2011. Tens of thousands of famine-stricken Somali refugees were cold and drenched after torrential rains overnight pounded their makeshift structures in the capital, Mogadishu. Rains are needed to plant crops and alleviate the drought that is causing famine in Somalia but on Saturday night the rains added to the misery of refugees who live in structures made of sticks and pieces of cloth. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh) #

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A doctor examines Mihag Gedi Farah, a seven- month-old child with a weight of 7.5 lbs., in a field hospital of the International Rescue Committee, IRC, in the town of Dadaab, Kenya. The U.N. will airlift emergency rations this week to parts of drought-ravaged Somalia that militants banned it from more than two years ago in a crisis intervention to keep hungry refugees from dying along what an official calls the "roads of death." Tens of thousands already have trekked to neighboring Kenya and Ethiopia, hoping to get aid in refugee camps. (AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam) #

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A malnourished mentally disabled refugee from Somalia is tied down to prevent him falling out of his bed at a hospital of the International Rescue Committee, IRC, in Dadaab, Kenya, Wednesday, Aug 3, 2011. Dadaab, a camp designed for 90,000 people now houses around 440,000 refugees. Almost all are from war-ravaged Somalia. Some have been here for more than 20 years, when the country first collapsed into anarchy. But now more than 1,000 are arriving daily, fleeing fighting or hunger.(AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam) #

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A malnourished refugee from Somalia has a blood sample taken by a doctor at a field hospital of the International Rescue Committee, IRC, in Dadaab, Kenya. (AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam) #

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Khalif Yussuf tries to fall asleep at a field hospital of the International Rescue Committee, IRC, in Dadaab, Kenya, Monday, Aug 1, 2011. Dadaab, a camp designed for 90,000 people now houses around 440,000 refugees. Almost all are from war-ravaged Somalia. Some have been here for more than 20 years, when the country first collapsed into anarchy. But now more than 1,000 are arriving daily, fleeing fighting or hunger.(AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam) #

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Newly arrived Somali refugees wait for medical examinations for their children at a centre at the Dadaab Refugee camp in eastern Kenya, where the influx of Somali's displaced by a ravaging famine remains high. TONY KARUMBA/AFP/Getty Images #

UPSIDE DOWN: Israel’s Anastasia Gloushkov performed during a synchronized swimming solo final at the FINA World Championships in Shanghai Wednesday. (Christinne Muschi/Reuters)

DRINK UP: A Somali refugee child drank water from a container in the Ifo refugee camp in Dadaab, Kenya, Wednesday. Tens of thousands of Somalis are feared dead in the world’s worst famine in a generation, the United Nations said Wednesday. (Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

DAD’S TURN: Lamon Rogers cooled off in a kiddie pool as his children Autumn and Noah played in their front yard in Grand Rapids, Mich., Tuesday. (Rex Larsen/Grand Rapids Press via Associated Press)

MULTITASKING: A man smoked a hookah pipe while riding a bicycle in Faisalabad, Pakistan, Wednesday. (Fayyaz Hussain/Reuters)

WALKING OVER WATER: People walked on a temporary trestle over a flooded path at a transit station in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China, Tuesday. The city has experienced more than 30 days of constant rainfall. (China Foto Press/Zuma Press)

WAITING FOR CUSTOMERS: A man checked the time on his watch as he waited for customers at his roadside stand in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Wednesday. (Faisal Mahmood/Reuters)

MUG SHOT: Self-proclaimed comedian and anarchist Jonathan May-Bowles was photographed by a police officer Tuesday after he lunged at Rupert Murdoch, the chief executive and chairman of News Corp., with a plate of shaving cream during a hearing on phone-hacking in London. (Reuters)

BIG CAT ATTACK: A leopard attacked a forest guard Tuesday in Prakash Nagar, India. Six people were mauled by the leopard after the feline strayed into the village and before it was caught by forestry department officials. (Diptendu Dutta/AFP/Getty Images)

ALL USED UP: A young boy lay Tuesday by empty USAID vegetable oil tins Tuesday at a refugee camp in Dadaab, Kenya. The Dadaab refugee camp was designed in the early 1990s to accommodate 90,000 people, but the U.N. estimates more than four times that are living there. (Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

SPECIAL DELIVERY: A man pushed a motorcycle carrying slaughtered pigs Tuesday outside a closed shopping mall in Hanoi, Vietnam. (Kham/Reuters)

HEAVY LIFTING: U.S. Marine Cpl. William Bock, 22, of Philadelphia, worked out Tuesday under the light of his head lamp at Combat Outpost Shir Ghazay in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. (David Goldman/Associated Press)

The worst drought in the Horn of Africa has sparked a severe food crisis and high malnutrition rates, with parts of Kenya and Somalia experiencing pre-famine conditions, the United Nations has said. More than 10 million people are now affected in drought-stricken areas of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Uganda and the situation is deteriorating.

Faduma Sakow Abdullahiand her five children tried to escape starvation in Somalia by journeying to a Kenyan refugee camp. Only one day before they reached their destination, her 4-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son died of exhaustion and hunger. At first the 29-year-old widow thought the two were merely sleeping when they wouldn’t get up after a brief rest. She had to leave their bodies under a tree, unburied, so she could push on with her baby, 2-year-old and 3-year-old. She saw more than 20 other children dead or unconscious abandoned on the roadside. Eventually a passing car rescued the rest of her family from what could have been death.

“I never thought I would live to see this horror,” she said, tears rolling down her cheeks as she described the 37-day trek to Dadaab, the world’s largest refugee camp.

Tens of thousands of Somalis have watched their land dry up after years without rain. Then the livestock died. Finally all the food ran out. Now they are making the perilous journey over parched earth to refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia, regions that also have been hit hard by drought.

1

Recently-arrived Somali refugees wait to fill jerry cans with water at a newly-installed tank in Iffou 2, an area earmarked for refugee camp expansion, but yet to be approved by the Kenyan government, outside Dadaab, Kenya, Monday, July 11, 2011. U.N. refugee chief Antonio Guterres said Sunday that drought-ridden Somalia is the "worst humanitarian disaster" in the world, after meeting with refugees who endured unspeakable hardship to reach the world's largest refugee camp in Dadaab, Kenya. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) #

2

Members of the family of Rage Mohamed are overtaken by wind-blown dust as they build a makeshift shelter around a thorny acacia tree, on the outskirts of Dagahaley Camp, outside Dadaab, Kenya, Sunday, July 10, 2011. It took the 15-person family five days to make the journey from their drought-stricken home in Somalia. They spent two nights sleeping in the open air under the tree prior to receiving tarps on Sunday. U.N. refugee chief Antonio Guterres said Sunday that drought-ridden Somalia is the "worst humanitarian disaster" in the world after meeting with refugees who endured unspeakable hardship to reach the world's largest refugee camp in Dadaab, Kenya. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) #

3

A young Somali girl who fled violence and drought in Somalia stands in line among adults outside a food distribution point in Dadaab refugee camp in northeastern Kenya on July 5, 2011. Dadaab, a complex of three settlements, is the world's largest refugee camp. Built to house 90,000 people and home to more than four times that number, it was already well over its maximum capacity before an influx of 30,000 refugees in the month of June. Upon arrival, the refugees find themselves tackling a chaotic system that sees new arrivals go days, even weeks, without food aid. "It still takes too much time for refugees to get proper assistance," Antoine Froidevaux, MSF's field coordinator in Dadaab told AFP. "The answer in terms of humanitarian aid is not satisfactory at all at the moment." ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images #

4

A Somali woman waiting amongst scores of other refugees, all hoping to receive their ration cards despite a processing backlog, pleads with an organizer in Dagahaley Camp, outside Dadaab, Kenya, Monday, July 11, 2011. U.N. refugee chief Antonio Guterres said Sunday that drought-ridden Somalia is the "worst humanitarian disaster" in the world, after meeting with refugees who endured unspeakable hardship to reach the world's largest refugee camp in Dadaab, Kenya. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) #

5

A Somali man who fled violence and drought in Somalia with his family sits on the ground outside a food distribution point in the Dadaab refugee camp. ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images #

6

One-year-old, Habibo Bashir, rests on a bed at a Doctors Without Borders hospital where he is being treated for severe malnutrition, in Dagahaley Camp, outside Dadaab, Kenya, Monday, July 11, 2011. U.N. refugee chief Antonio Guterres said Sunday that drought-ridden Somalia is the "worst humanitarian disaster" in the world, after meeting with refugees who endured unspeakable hardship to reach the world's largest refugee camp in Dadaab, Kenya. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) #

7

A refugee holds her child in her arms as she and others like her mass outside a food distribution point in Dadaab in the hope of getting access to much needed aid at the worlds biggest refugee camp in the world on July 4, 2011. With a population of 370,000, Dadaab is the world's largest refugee camp even though it was built for just 90,000. With serious drought in the Horn of Africa, thousands of Somalis have arrived in recent weeks in search of food and water. AFP PHOTO/Roberto SCHMIDT #

8

A Somali refugee drags a sack with food aid given to her at a food distribution point at the Dadaab refugee camp. ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images #

9

Refugees newly arrived from Somalia line up to receive food rations at a receiving center in Dagahaley Camp, outside Dadaab, Kenya. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates 1300 new refugees fleeing drought and hunger in Somalia are arriving daily in the Dadaab area. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) #

10

Somali refugees wait in line to recieve aid at a food distribution point at Dadaab refugee camp. ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images) #

11

A Somali man accesses a water point at the Dadaab refugee camp on July 4, 2011. With a population of 370,000, Dadaab is the world's largest refugee camp even though it was built for just 90,000. ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images #

12

A Somali girl being treated for severe malnutrition pushes away a cup as a woman tries to feed her at a hospital operated by the International Rescue Commission. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) #

13

A Somali refugee waits to receive a food ration for her and her family at a food distribution point. ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images #

14

Somali refugees sit in the yard of their makeshift shelter, fenced in with thorny branches, in Iffou 2, an area earmarked for refugee camp expansion, but yet to be approved by the Kenyan government, outside Dadaab, Kenya, Monday, July 11, 2011. U.N. refugee chief Antonio Guterres said Sunday that drought-ridden Somalia is the "worst humanitarian disaster" in the world, after meeting with refugees who endured unspeakable hardship to reach the world's largest refugee camp in Dadaab, Kenya. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) #

15

A Somali woman walks past the frame for a sparsely-covered makeshift shelter in Iffou 2, an area earmarked for refugee camp expansion. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) #

16

A carcass of an animal lies on an empty road, near Lagbogal, 56 kilometers from Wajir town, Wednesday, July 6, 2011. The worst drought in the Horn of Africa has sparked a severe food crisis and high malnutrition rates, with parts of Kenya and Somalia experiencing pre-famine conditions, the United Nations has said. More than 10 million people are now affected in drought-stricken areas of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Uganda and the situation is deteriorating, (AP Photo/ Sayyid Azim) #

17

Sixty-year-old Suban Osman sits with two of her malnourished grand children at a clinic run by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) at the Dadaab refugee camp on July 4, 2011. ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images #

18

Two-year-old, Aden Salaad, looks up toward his mother, unseen, as she bathes him in a tub at a Doctors Without Borders hospital, where Aden is receiving treatment for malnutrition, in Dagahaley Camp, outside Dadaab, Kenya. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) #

19

A Somali boy uses a wheelbarrow to carry two jerry cans filled with water to a tent that he and his family call home at the worlds biggest refugee camp. ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images #

20

Two-year-old Shiniyo looks while bundled in her mothers arms while they stay at a clinic run by Doctors Without Borders. ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images #

21

A Kenyan doctor looks at the IV drip on a child suffering from severe malnutrition at a clinic run by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) at the Dadaab refugee camp on July 4, 2011. With a population of 370,000, Dadaab is the world's largest refugee camp even though it was built for just 90,000. According to Doctors Without Borders, the number of people seeking refugee keeps swelling and Dadaab will house 450,000 refugees by the end of the year, or twice the population of Geneva. With serious drought in the Horn of Africa, thousands of Somalis have arrived in recent weeks in search of food and water. ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images #

22

Children walk down a dusty street in Dadaab refugee camp on July 4, 2011. Fatimah who fled violence in Somalia with her family one year ago says that she does not venture outside the camp to look for firewood because it is too dangerous. With a population of 370,000, Dadaab is the world's largest refugee camp even though it was built for just 90,000. With serious drought in the Horn of Africa, thousands of Somalis have arrived in recent weeks in search of food and water. ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images #

JUBILANT: A man hoisted aloft by friends was showered with wine Wednesday at the start of the San Fermin Festival in Pamplona, Spain. The annual festival best known for its daily running of the bulls kicked off with the traditional “Chupinazo” rocket launch; it runs until July 14. (Eloy Alonso/Reuters)

DEADLY VIOLENCE: A relative of a victim of political violence mourned over the body in an ambulance at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre in Karachi Wednesday. Violence blamed on political and ethnic tensions in Pakistan’s biggest city killed at least 24 people overnight, officials said. (Asif Hassan/AFP/Getty Images)

PATIENCE: Four-year-old Bashir Hassan, right, waited with his family Tuesday for a bus that would take them to a processing facility in the Dadaab refugee camp in northeastern Kenya. The boy, his brothers and their mother arrived 11 days ago after walking two weeks from their home in Somalia.(Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images)

STRONG ARMS: Fisher Frude hung onto a sheep during the ‘mutton busting’ event at the junior bull-riding competition Tuesday at Laramie Jubilee Days in Laramie, Wyo. (Andy Carpenean/The Laramie Boomerang/AP)

UP IN ARMS: Bangladeshi police arrested Jainul Abdin Farroque, the chief parliamentary whip of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, in Dhaka Wednesday during a strike against a constitutional amendment the opposition says will let the government rig elections. Mr. Farroque was hospitalized. (AFP/Getty Images)

BIRTHDAY SPAT: A Tibetan exile tussled with Nepalese police officers as they tried to stop her from entering a birthday celebration for the Dalai Lama in Katmandu, Nepal, Wednesday. Nepalese authorities were concerned that the spiritual leader’s birthday gathering would turn anti-Chinese. (Binod Joshi/Associated Press)

ON THE TOUR: Cyclist Mark Cavendish, center, of Britain made a final sprint against Jose Rojas, left, of Spain and Philippe Gilbert, right, of Belgium in the fifth stage of the Tour de France, between Carhaix and Cap Frehel Wednesday. Mr. Cavendish won the stage. (Denis Balibouse/Reuters)