UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and Oxfam campaigner, singer Angelique Kidjo has witnessed the ravishing and deadly effects of a severe drought that has afflicted thousands of communities in the Horn and Eastern Africa.

While visiting communities and families in Wajir town, 780 kilometers north of Kenya's capital Nairobi on Monday, Kidjo was immediately stunned by what she saw.

"Even though some of the rains have come, there is still severe malnutrition and people are really suffering. The carcasses of dead cattle lie all over the lands -- polluting the water and causing further diseases," she said in a statement issued by UNICEF.

West African singer and songwriter Kidjo is one of the most electrifying performers in the pop world. UNICEF appointed her as a goodwill ambassador in 2002.

"I saw a kid 8 years old who weighed the same as a 3 year old. Adults are starving too. There is malaria, dysentery and measles. UNICEF and Oxfam are doing their best -- immunizing kids, providing food, digging boreholes and supporting the local hospitals and communities -- but we need to do much more," Kidjo added.

The Horn of Africa region is experiencing one of the worst droughts in a decade and has left approximately 8 million people in urgent need of assistance.

The effects of four failed rainy seasons have pushed the already vulnerable pastoralist herding communities into a deepened cycle of poverty.

In some areas, acute malnutrition rates have hit 30 percent, which means that three in every ten children are facing serious illness, long term health problems and even death. In other areas, more than 62 percent of pregnant women are malnourished.

"But this isn't just about Kenya. This crisis is devastating the whole of the Horn of Africa. Millions of people are still suffering," said Kidjo.

"It would be terrible for people to think that this emergency is over just because there has been a little rain. If anything the rain has spread more disease that threatens not only children but also the livestock, killing off hope of a fast recovery," she said.

She called for long term interventions to empower communities to protect themselves from drought the next time around.

"The environment is so depleted that we need to plant more trees that can survive this arid land. There were no roads! How can there be development without roads! We need to work with these communities, empower them, so that they are no longer living on the brink," said the goodwill ambassador.

Source: Xinhua