Readers have donated more than £4,000 to our appeal to help starving children in Africa.

But aid agencies working in the region say the situation is getting worse and that nearly 800,000 children are at risk of dying without urgent assistance.

We launched the appeal in conjunction with the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), an umbrella group for charities helping with the unfolding crisis.

The UN says it fears tens of thousands of people already have died in Somalia’s famine, which has prompted Somalis to walk for days in hopes of reaching a refugee camp in neighbouring Kenya.

Unicef was preparing today to airlift another 105 tonnes of food and medical supplies to the region, and a shipment will leave for the Horn of Africa in the next few days.

So far 1,300 tonnes of emergency supplies have been sent to the area.

n If you would like to help please send donations or cheques, made payable to the DEC East Africa Crisis Appeal, to Dorset Echo, Fleet House, Hampshire Road, Weymouth, Dorset, DT4 9XD.