Dire Djibouti food shortage warned

GENEVA, Switzerland, July 18 (UPI) -- A catastrophic food shortage affecting 150,000 people could strike Djibouti the head of the World Food Program warned.

Drought and a spike food prices have deepened the Djibouti crisis, said WFP Director Daly Belgasmi, who is seeking $18 million in aid for the African country, the Kuwaiti news service KUNA reported Friday.

Belgasmi noted that Sudan and Ethiopia have provided Djibouti with additional arable land for cereal production and that Saudi Arabia has recently made a major contribution of funds toward the WFP's worldwide funding gap of $755 million. But he appealed for aid to help Djibouti create a warehouse system providing food to the most needy.