UNITED NATIONS - (Xinhua) -- The number of children suffering from severe drought conditions in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia has more than doubled in five months, according to figures released by the United Nations on Friday.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said some 20.2 million children in these countries now face the risk of extreme hunger, thirst and disease, compared to 10 million in July, as climate change, conflict, global inflation and grain shortages ravage the region.

UNICEF said that nearly two million children across Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia currently need urgent treatment for acute malnutrition, the most deadly form of hunger, adding that nearly 2.7 million children have stopped going to school due to dehydration, and it is estimated that there is Another 4 million children are at risk of dropping out of school.

UNICEF warned that as families come under increasing pressure, children face a range of risks, including child labor and child marriage.

"We urgently need a global effort to mobilize resources to reduce the devastating and irreversible harm to children in the Horn of Africa," UNICEF Deputy Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa Lyk van de Wiel said in a statement.