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In this connection, the Panel reported that this standard operating procedure has not yet been activated due to a lack of resources.

They gave priority to the most vulnerable people in areas of highest need as catastrophic hunger looms, the office said in its latest situation report.

The UN team's visit comes a day after an Al-Shabaab suicide bomber killed the justice minister of the regional state and his son outside a mosque shortly after the Friday prayers.

Separately, the Humanitarian Response Plan for Somalia, which calls for 1.46 billion U.S. dollars to help 5.5 million people, is only 30 percent funded, he told a regular briefing. Almost 4 million people have received assistance since January.

During the main period of a devastating famine between May and October 2011, there were more than 20,000 excess deaths per month in southern and central Somalia.

A famine in 2011 killed more than 250,000 people in Somalia, most of them children, and Sanford said people are telling her that today's conditions are even worse.

During a visit to the drought-stricken southern region of Dollow, the UN's humanitarian coordinator for Somalia, Adam Abdelmoula, warned the situation in the country was rapidly deteriorating. 

Some 4,887 suspected cases of cholera, with 16 associated deaths, had been reported from 21 drought-affected districts in Somalia as of May 15, the UN said.

The IOM said it needs immediate funding to continue essential life-saving programs and help communities adapt and withstand future shocks.

Four rainy seasons have failed in the space of two years – killing crops and livestock and drying up water sources, the UN said, noting that forecasts suggest the next October to December rains are likely to fail too.

The camps are hosting thousands of people who fled their homes due to threats by the jihadist group Al-Shabaab as well as the devastating drought that is currently affecting many parts of the Horn of Africa region.

The UN agency said the drought is compounding severe vulnerabilities and humanitarian needs caused by decades of protracted conflict and insecurity, climate shocks, and disease outbreaks.