NAIROBI, 3 Mar 2006 (IRIN) - At least three million children, including 600,000 who are under age five, are facing severe food and water shortages in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia, the nongovernmental organisation Save the Children (UK) said.

Launching an appeal for £400,000 (US $700,870), the charity said up to 42 percent of the children and adults were at risk of malnutrition in the most severely affected areas of the eastern Africa region, which is experiencing its worst drought since 1993.

"This food crisis is the result of a massive drought hitting families living in chronic poverty," Jasmine Whitbread, chief executive of Save the Children, said in a statement on Thursday.

"It is vital that relief efforts are targeted towards children, as they are always the most vulnerable to food and water shortages in such emergencies," she added.

The agency said it was concerned that the needs of children in eastern Africa were not being addressed and called on the public to help.

According to aid agencies, more than 11 million people are facing serious food shortages in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia.

Meanwhile, the heads of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), James Morris and Ann Veneman, respectively, have called for a stronger focus on the catastrophic impact of the drought in Kenya.

The two met Kenyan president Mwai Kibaki on Thursday night to discuss the situation.

According to WFP, drought resulting from consecutive seasons of failed rains has affected some 3.5 million people in 25 districts in Kenya, including 500,000 schoolchildren who require food assistance.

A joint statement by WFP and UNICEF on Wednesday said more than $240 million is needed to help the Kenyan government offset food shortages until the end of the year, while more than $11.7 million is required to support emergency health, nutrition and water services and to keep schools open.

"With forecasters suggesting that the April rains will also be poor, the number of families needing assistance could grow in the coming months," Morris said. "Without adequate emergency food aid, we fear for the worst."

"We must be prepared for a worsening drought," Veneman said. "Children are especially vulnerable to malnutrition and disease, and the burden on already overstretched health, nutrition and water services will be even greater."