East Africa drought - in pictures

Animal carcasses lie on the road close to Dilmanyale, around 14 miles from Habawswein, in Kenya, in early July. Two failed harvests and a severe drought have led to devastation across east Africa. NGOs have been warning of an impending crisis since last year Photograph: Per-Anders Pettersson/Save the Children

People pull a warthog along the ground near Dilmanyale, Kenya. Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya are the three countries where the impact of the drought is being felt the most, although south Sudan and Uganda are experiencing food shortages Photograph: Per-Anders Pettersson/Save the Children

Women and children pull water barrels after filling them at a water hole in central Habaswein, Kenya. The Disasters Emergency Committee launched its east Africa crisis appeal for funds on Thursday Photograph: Per-Anders Pettersson/Save the Children

Umi, who is three-months-old, is examined by a nurse at a Save the Children outreach site in Kenya. Weighing just 3.7lbs, Umi was referred to the district hospital. Her mother, Amina, says her two other children are malnourished because the drought caused the death of the family's livestock, which subsequently led to a lack of milk Photograph: Per-Anders Pettersson/Save the Children

Umi is examined by Daniel Wanyoike, a nurse at the outreach site Photograph: Per-Anders Pettersson/Save the Children

A dry water pan close to Dilmanyale, Kenya. Baroness Amos, head of UN humanitarian affairs, has appealed for donors to 'dig deep' to address the crisis. She said the scale of the problem was 'much greater than we had anticipated last year' Photograph: Per-Anders Pettersson/Save the Children

Pastoralists are used to coping with occasional droughts and dry seasons, but successive droughts have pushed their resiliency to the limit. Some families are eating one meal a day at most, and the cheapest food they can find. Without nourishing food, families are vulnerable to disease Photograph: Colin Crowley/Save the Children

Seynab holds the hand of her daughter, Hafsa, who is six-weeks-old, at the stabilisation centre for severely malnourished children in Wajir, Kenya. Seynab says: 'I haven’t been getting enough nutrition to sustain myself and I haven’t been able to breastfeed. I blame Hafsa’s illness on this. She became very weak and has been suffering from fevers and diarrhoea' Photograph: Colin Crowley/Save the Children

Bishar Hassim, a pastoralist who has lost all his livestock, stands over a dead cow in Jowhar village, in Wajir. 'The first thing the drought did was take all our animals. Our livestock have died and we can no longer depend on them for food or income. Secondly, the price of food has gone up in all the markets, and there is nothing we can afford to buy. We can’t even sell our animals in the market because they’re too weak. Because of these things, there is a lot of malnutrition in our children' Photograph: Colin Crowley/Save the Children

Two successive rainy seasons have failed in the region. In early June, Fatuma arrived at the stabilisation centre in Wajir with her son, Ibrahim, who was six-weeks-old. Fatuma says: 'We lost all our livestock in the drought, we don't get the kind of nutrition or quality of food that we used to eat' Photograph: Colin Crowley/Save the Children

People gather to collect water in Wajir, Kenya, in early June. A number of NGOs have launched appeals to raise money for those suffering from the drought Photograph: Colin Crowley/Save the Children

People gather to collect water in Wajir. As well as the DEC appeal for funds, Save the Children has launched its own appeal, along with Christian Aid, Tearfund, the Red Cross, ActionAid, Care International and the International Rescue Committee Photograph: Colin Crowley/Save the Children

Rahow, two, sits with his mother and siblings in their home in Kanjara village, in Wajir. Rahow’s mother, Habiba, says: 'My son became ill because there is no food and there is no nutrients." He is now being treated by a nutritional outreach programme run by Save the Children and his health is improving Photograph: Colin Crowley/Save the Children

Mothers and children at an outreach site in Kanjara village, Wajir, collecting packets of high-nutrient peanut paste Photograph: Colin Crowley/Save the Children

Refugees at the Dadaab refugee complex in Kenya, near the border with Somalia. Thousands of Somalis have crossed the border to Dadaab, the largest refugee complex in the world, to escape fighting in Somalia. The complex has been officially declared full, but the drought has sparked a new wave of arrivals Photograph: Cat Carter/Save the Children

Molit, eight, sits with his family at Dadaab. The complex was set up 20 years ago Photograph: Cat Carter/Save the Children

Refugees at the Dadaab refugee camp Photograph: Cat Carter/Save the Children

Refugees register with Save the Children at the Dadaab refugee complex. As well as Somalis, the complex is home to people from Sudan and Ethiopia Photograph: Cat Carter/Save the Children