Children in Ethiopia are suffering and in desperate need of help because of failing crops and the rising price of food caused by drought.

Deemah Rashid, from the Borena tribe, holds her youngest child inside the mud hut where she and her family live. The family moved to the settlement after their herd of cattle died in the 2006 drought.

Photo: UNICEF/ HQ06-0042/Indrias Getachew.

Right now, 75,000 children are severely malnourished, and children under the age of five are particularly vulnerable.

UNICEF together with the World Food Programme (WFP) has been working with the Ethiopian government since 2004 to help provide much-needed food, vitamin supplements, vaccinations and nutritional screening for children. However, a lack of funds is now putting these activities under threat, and money is needed to support health, nutrition, water and sanitation programmes in the area.

As a response UNICEF is appealing for £25 million to help prevent children dying from severe malnutrition.

Watch a video about children affected by the drought in Ethiopia and view the photogallery.

Watch a video about how UNICEF is distributing malaria nets in Ethiopia.

Keep up-to-date with the situation in Ethiopia on the UNICEF website.

Find out how you can help.