Over 16 million people in Africa do not have enough food. Thousands will die. Why? Our story gives you some facts. There are shortages in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda as a result of droughts and wars. In Eritrea over 30% of the population won't have enough food.

When a country hasn't got enough food for everybody to eat there is a famine. There have been famines across the world many times in history. In the 1980s there were food shortages in 22 African countries. Over 150 million people starved. Today 35,000 of the world's children will die of starvation.

Why are there famines? Droughts, floods, too many people in the country, too many animals in the country, ways of farming that are not good, political problems.

There are many countries in Africa where there is no rain for months. Sometimes there is no rain for longer than usual and there is a drought. Then the harvest is very small and people don't have enough food. They can't sell their harvests so they can't buy food. Without food there is a famine and many people die.

Floods happen when there is too much rain in a country. In Bangladesh and China rivers get bigger when there is too much rain. Many people live near these rivers and grow food so their farms and homes are destroyed when there is a flood.

Countries with good resources have enough food for people when there is a drought or flood. Famines are unusual in these countries. Poor countries and countries at war need help from rich countries when there is a famine. Governments and charities send food, medicines, equipment and people to help.

In 1984, the pop star Bob Geldof invited pop and rock musicians to play at Wembley Stadium to help people in Sudan and Ethiopia. People from all over the world sent money for food and lorries. Today, the most popular way for young people in the UK to help is '24 Hour Famine'. Governments and charities also help countries learn to grow food more successfully and to plan for future famines. These days technology also helps. A new satellite is taking regular photographs of countries that often have famines. This will help governments plan to have enough food for people in the future.