Gregorio Jimenez, 34, eats lunch with his son Darwin, 3, who suffers from malnutrition, at a hospital in Japala, Guatemala, 10 Sep 2009The United Nations says Guatemala is facing its worst drought in 30 years, affecting some 2.5 million people.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement Friday that hundreds of thousands of people, including pregnant women and children, are facing severe hunger.

The statement says U.N. agencies are assessing health, nutrition, food and livelihood needs in the country, where President Alvaro Colom appealed for aid.

Twenty-five children have reportedly died so far in the so-called dry corridor along the Pacific coast, and an estimated 30 percent of all pregnant women in the area are malnourished.

The U.N. says the drought has been caused by the El Nino weather pattern that spawns severe droughts in parts of the world and floods in others, leading to losses in farm production in 21 provinces across Guatemala.


Some information for this report was provided by AFP.