ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – The number of Ethiopians needing emergency food assistance has jumped to 6.4 million from 4.6 million in June, the aid agency Oxfam said on Friday.

Drought and high food prices have both contributed to the worsening crisis in Ethiopia and other parts of the Horn of Africa like Somalia and north Kenya, aid workers say.

Oxfam, citing U.N. figures, said there was a $260 million shortfall for agencies trying to address Ethiopia’s crisis.

“Compared with the funds going to shore up the global financial system, the aid needed to save lives in Ethiopia is a drop in the ocean,” Oxfam’s country director Waleed Rauf said.

While government figures showed 6.4 million people needed emergency assistance, more than 13.5 million were in need of some sort of aid, Oxfam said. “The number of those suffering severe hunger and destitution has spiralled,” Rauf said.

(Reporting by Barry Malone, editing by Tim Pearce)

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