The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) yesterday announced $8 million in aid for the locust control operations in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia.  

According to the latest update by FAO on 17 February, the situation remains critical and could lead to food insecurity in the region. The new funding brings the U.S. government's total contribution to the humanitarian locust response in East Africa to $9 million.

According to FAO, one square kilometer of locust swarms can represent up to 40 million adult locusts. This population consumes in one day as much food as 35,000 people, considering an average human consumption of 2.3 kg of food per day per head.