The UN's children's body, Unicef, estimates that this figure is three million higher than it was just two months ago.

They say that unless more money comes in and rain falls, the region could face "an avalanche of child deaths".

Unicef's Executive Director Catherine Russell told the BBC that the drought was "the worst climate-induced emergency in 40 years".

"There is so much attention being paid on Ukraine, we just have to show people what's happening here to make sure they understand the difficulties. If the rains don't come then people will definitely not survive because there is so little here," she said.

Unicef requires about $250m (£199m) for humanitarian aid to Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Eritrea and Djibouti.