The International Rescue Committee (IRC) has pledged a further five million dollars to bolster drought response efforts in East Africa. The humanitarian organisation warns that gaps in funding could leave 25 million people in Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya at risk of "extreme hunger". The UN called the drought "the worst in four decades." It is the result of three consecutive poor rainy seasons, which have been disastrous for the largely pastoralist population in the affected areas. The IRC says severe and acute malnutrition are their highest rates on recent record in drought-affected areas in all three countries. The organisation urges additional financing to combat the effects, saying Somalia still needs 96pc of  the required funding to reach the targeted population with critical humanitarian aid. The figure is around 90pc in Kenya. Last month, Mustafe M. Omer, president of the Somali Regional State, the worst-hit region in Ethiopia, said the drought in the region has been successfully averted from becoming a famine.