The United Nations has appealed for a further $1.4 billion to save the lives of some 12 million people across the Horn of Africa stricken by a worsening drought, and to stop the crisis from becoming an "even bigger catastrophe."

"More than 12 million people - in Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia and Djibouti - are in dire need of help, and the situation is getting worse," said Valerie Amos, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator and head of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), which issued the July 29 appeal. "If we are to avoid this crisis becoming an even bigger catastrophe, we must act now."

The emergency is expected to persist for at least three to four months, and the number of people needing humanitarian assistance could increase by as much as 25 percent, OCHA said, putting strain on the work of UN agencies.

OCHA said that the request for funds lifts the Horn of Africa appeal to a total of $2.4 billion, of which $1 billion has been received so far.

OCHA reports that, driven by the worst drought in 60 years, some 1,300 new Somali refugees arrive daily in Kenya, several hundred more flee to Ethiopia and at least 1,000 others crowd into the capital, Mogadishu, fleeing not only drought but continued fighting between government forces and rebels.

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Related Headline: Security Council extends mandate of monitoring group for Somalia and Eritrea 

Capitol Hill Hearing: Afshan Khan, UNICEF's Director of Public-Sector Alliances and Resources Mobilization, briefs the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations for African Affairs at a briefing titled, Responding to Drought and Famine in the Horn of Africa on Thursday, August 4 at 2:15 p.m. in 419 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C.    

Think Tank Discussion: World Food Programme's Allan Jury and UNHCR's Vincent Cochetel spoke at a Brookings event titled, Famine in Somalia: An Expected Turn for the Worse, on August 1 in Washington.  

The Security Council last week extended the mandates of the joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force in Sudan's conflict-affected region of Darfur (UNAMID), the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), and the UN peacekeeping mission in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI), all for one year.

The Secretary-General's UNAMID review is intended to ensure the most efficient and effective implementation of the mission's mandate, the Council said in its resolution. The Council stressed the need for UNAMID to make full use of its mandate and capabilities to protect civilians across Darfur. The mission should also ensure that those in need had unhindered access to relief, as provide protection to humanitarian personnel.

The Security Council also welcomed UNAMI's recent security improvements in the country but stressed the need for further progress on the humanitarian, human rights and political fronts. In a resolution adopted unanimously, Council members agreed to continue the work of UNAMI for a period of 12 months, in line with the latest report of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the work of the mission.

Meanwhile, UNOCI's mandate extension will assist the country tackle the many challenges it faces following the recent post-election crisis. In unanimously adopting resolution 2000, the Council decided that UNOCI will remain in the country until July 31, 2012 at its current strength of nearly 9,800 troops, which includes the additional 2,000 troops deployed earlier this year amid the post-electoral violence.

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Côte d'Ivoire: Ban to appoint experienced Dutch diplomat to head UN mission

A United Nations advisory group on Haiti has reported improvements in the earthquake-torn country but said aid coordination remains a challenge, and a stalemate in the formation of the government is delaying aid.

The Economic and Social Council's Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti, reporting on the results of a four-day visit to the Caribbean nation in June, said in a report, "The first finding of the group is that the situation on the ground has improved since its visit at the same time in the previous year."

"The progress made in clearing and reconstruction work in Port-au-Prince and neighboring towns is visible and shows that Haitian society is mobilized and that the aid provided by the international community has been useful," said the 12-member group.

The group cited accomplishments in recovery from the devastating earthquake of January 12, 2010, which resulted in more than 220,000 deaths and delivered a severe blow to country's already shaky infrastructure. It singled out successes in debris removal, resettlement of displaced persons, and the fight against cholera.

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The head of the United Nations anti-drugs agency has called for strengthening border controls around Afghanistan - still the world's leading producer of opium and heroin - boosting security in that country, and lowering demand in so-called "consumer countries."

Yury Fedotov, Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), said in an introduction to a new study, Global Afghan Opium Trade - A Threat Assessment, that curtailing the Afghan illegal drug trade would "benefit the Afghan people, the wider region and the international community as a whole."

"Trafficking in Afghan opiates is... very lucrative, generating some $61 billion in illicit funds in 2009 out of $68 billion for the global illicit opiate trade," according to the report.

Spanning a decade, the report states that some 16.5 million people annually abuse opiates worldwide. Heroin takes the bulk of the market, with 12 million to 13 million people consuming 375 tons of heroin per year; of that, 150 tons are consumed in Europe.

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