The United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization has said that Drought in East Africa has caused sharp increase in the price of staple foods, raising fears that hunger will worsen.

Ceoafrica gathered that the cost of staple cereals have doubled in some markets, reaching record and near-record levels in parts of Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Uganda and Tanzania.

It was further gathered that in South Sudan, food prices were between two and four times higher than a year ago while in Kenya prices of maize were up by about a third.

However in Somalia, maize and sorghum harvests were estimated to be 75% lower than usual and more than half of the country's population, mostly in rural areas, was facing hunger.