The U.N. warned Tuesday that more than 2.5 million people in Somalia remain in need of assistance despite international aid efforts and the situation could worsen unless more effort is made to build on gains since famine was declared in July 2011, Agence France-Presse reports. “Tens of thousands of people are believed to have died last year after extreme drought and war pushed several areas of southern Somalia into famine” last year, the news agency writes.

“‘Mortality and malnutrition rates in Somalia have improved dramatically but remain among the highest in the world,’ Mark Bowden, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Somalia, told reporters in the Kenyan capital,” according to AFP. He noted that a $576 million gap remained in funding, about half of what is needed, the news agency notes (7/17). The U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, on Tuesday said more than one million Somalis had fled the country due to food shortages and insecurity, BBC News reports, noting the agency also said the flow of refugees had slowed (7/17).