The US has pledged to provide $8m (£6m) to control desert locusts in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced this support in a joint press conference with Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedu Andargachew in Addis Ababa.
Last week the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) asked the international community to provide nearly $76m (£58m) to fund the spraying of the affected areas with pesticide.
The UN agency warned that the East African region could be on the verge of a food crisis if huge swarms of locusts devouring crops and pasture are not brought under control.
There are fears that the locusts – already in the hundreds of billions – will multiply further.
Efforts to control the infestation have so far not been effective.
Source:Fiilafmnline/BBC
