The World Food Programme (WFP), a UN food aid agency, is the largest humanitarian agency in the world. For the past 40 years, the WFP has worked to get food to people who need it.

Stephanie Savariaud is a Public Information Officer for the WFP. Based in Nairobi, Kenya, her job is to help journalists understand the work the WFP is doing to battle hunger and poverty. Stephanie has recently traveled in areas affected by the drought, and she's got answers to your questions about the situation in East Africa.

How do people live and adapt to the heat and dry weather?
Annie W., age 13

People who live in these areas are used to the heat. They wear clothes that are adapted to this type of climate, and when they can, they build huts or houses that are cool inside. But in some countries hit by conflicts or natural disasters, people have been driven away from their homes, and have to take shelter in refugee camps or makeshift camps. They build huts with wood and twigs and pieces of cloth, and whatever else they can find. In those situations, the impact of a drought makes it even harder for them.

Is international aid being sent to East Africa to help out with the drought? If so, what is it?
Katie S., age 13

Yes international aid has been coming to East Africa for a while, but it is far from being enough (only half of what is needed has been sent so far). To give you an example, the countries that have recently given money to the emergency operation in Kenya are: United States, United Kingdom, Kenya, European Commission, Canada, Sweden, Australia, Ireland, France, Denmark . . .

How many people do you give food to a day? a week? a year?
Cassandra P., age 10

Depending on the type of help we give, we distribute different rations. For example, we give monthly rations when we do general distributions of food (we give families enough cereals, vegetable oil and beans or peas to last them for a month). In therapeutic and supplementary feeding centers, where mothers bring their children if they are very thin and malnourished, we give food daily for children (a porridge made with enriched flour, sugar and oil, other partners also provide therapeutic milk). We also provide food for their mothers or people who bring them to these centers.

What are some health problems caused by hunger?
Colbert M., age 13

One of the most common diseases linked to malnutrition among children is called Kwashiorkor—children who have this may have very thin arms and legs but swollen bellies. This does not mean they are fat—it's really the opposite. Sometimes, too, their hair changes color and looks red and dry. If children grow up with too little food for a very long time, we say they are "stunted." This means that they will never grow as tall as they should have, and sometimes their ability to learn is also affected.

Do you airdrop a lot of food to people in Africa?
Trea B., age 11

We only airdrop food from a plane in areas that are inaccessible by road because of bad weather or lack of infrastructure, or because it is too dangerous to drive there. We have done it in Sudan, and very recently in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in Central Africa. Usually the food either comes from abroad—by plane or boat—and is dispatched by trucks to the distribution points, or it is bought in the region requiring help, if it is possible. Sometimes there is actually food around in a country where people do not have enough to eat, but they simply do not have enough money to buy that food.

Have kids been suffering from hunger for a long time?
Maiya B., age 10

Children are the first victims when a country grows short of food, because they are the weakest and their bodies have fewer defenses to fight against diseases, especially if they have not enough to eat. Malnutrition has unfortunately been hitting children for centuries. That is why WFP aims its food assistance primarily at children and at pregnant and nursing mothers.

Is President George W. Bush doing something to help fight world hunger?
Barbara M., age 10

Actually, President Bush is helping. The United States is the biggest single contributor to WFP operations around the world, and especially in Africa. But the needs are so great . . . we all need to do more. And some countries need to do a lot more than they are doing in view of their relative wealth.

What do you like about your job?
Lexi H., age 10

What I like the most is to be able to spend enough time in a place, talk to people, ask them how they live, what they eat, what they lack. Then I can explain it better to journalists and children like you so that we all understand the situation and hopefully bring more help to those in need.

Do the kids in these places have any toys?
Grace H., age 6

In most places I have been, no, I haven't really seen kids with toys as we have toys in the rich world. Most of the time, they play with tires or make little toys out of wires or wood. They have so little money that they can't buy toys—and there aren't any shops around selling them. But they play with what they can find.

How bad is the drought in Africa?
Maraine M., age 13

For different reasons, including lack of irrigation, but also because of climate change, more than 6 million people in the horn of Africa are in need of food aid because they have been hit by the drought: 3.5 million in Kenya, 1.1 million in Somalia, 1.7 million in Ethiopia, and 50,000 in Djibouti.

How many kids die from starvation each day?
Caylynn C., age 12

It is estimated that 18,000 children die of hunger daily on this planet, which produces more than enough to feed every inhabitant.

How I can help?
Janey G., age 11

You are already helping by showing your interest! We just had an event last Sunday called "Walk the World" in 118 countries, to help raise awareness about child hunger. Maybe you and your friends can join in next year and walk five kilometers so more people can understand the immense suffering from hunger that could be avoided if we all took the right action.

Do some kids eat camels?
Donnisha B. age 13

Some kids do, but not often. For pastoralists' families (who make a living by raising and selling cattle), camels are a very precious asset. However, people, do drink camel's milk, which is said to be more nutritious than cow's milk.

How long has WFP been in existence?
Christine G., age 12

WFP has been helping people in Kenya since 1980. The current emergency operation, related to the drought in Kenya, started in August 2004, as Kenya has been hit by several consecutive droughts.

What are the foods that are not getting to Africa?
Katy E., age 10

In Africa, people grow their own food in rural areas. WFP starts helping people when a natural disaster or a conflict is affecting harvests. The food aid we distribute is adapted to the type of food people usually harvest in their countries (rice, maize, corn, depending on the area). WFP uses fortified food, rich in proteins—vegetable oil contains vitamin E, for example—to help people to recover faster.

What caused the drought?
Courtney P., age 10

Over the past few years, droughts have become more frequent in Africa. Some experts say it is related to climate changes. But you have to bear in mind that in certain African countries, people do not have running water, and they often have to walk for miles to fetch water to cook their food or water their fields. So you can imagine that the consequences of a drought where there [are few] water facilities are even worse.

What happens to the people who do not have water or food?
Haley B., age 11

How hard is it to go days without food or water?
Elijah B., age 11

Not having food for a little while makes you feel hungry and very weak. In most cases, when WFP sends food aid to a country, people have had to cut down [to] two or one meal a day. They have also had to sell some of their assets (cooking utensils, clothes) in order to buy food. That is why we are providing them with food aid, so that they can recover and stop selling their belongings. Without food for too long, people can get sick, and eventually they can die; that is why WFP is appealing to foreign countries to give money and food . . . so that such a dramatic situation does not happen.

How much longer are the other countries going to supply food?
Joshua M., age 10

We hope they will supply food as long as people need their help.

How long have you been a Public Information Officer for WFP?
Veronica A., age 11

I started working for WFP in June of 2005 in Niger, West Africa.

Does WFP send people to Kenya?
Rebecca S., age 10

WFP has a permanent office in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, and 4 additional sub-offices in the country itself. The World Food Programme has been working with the government of Kenya since 1980, starting with providing lunches to schoolchildren in areas affected by drought. WFP sends people from other countries who stay for a few years, but it is a minority. The majority of people working for WFP in Kenya are Kenyans themselves.

Have you ever had a time that you did not have enough food to serve everyone?
Cindy L., age 11

It is never a happy picture to see a child or an adult who does not have enough to eat, but most of the time when we see them it means we are here to help and distribute food. Yes, unfortunately there are times when we don't have enough food and we have to give less, which is a very difficult thing to do.