Humanitarian appeals are being made to help people in the east and Horn of Africa after two failed rainy seasons have left millions on the brink of starvation.

A new report calls on policy-makers to investigate why food price rises have in recent years begun to mirror the level of investment in food futures.

The Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance says that if one sixth of the world's population is hungry when there is sufficient food to feed the world, action to address root causes is needed.

The president of the Lutheran World Federation, which is meeting in Germany this week, says world hunger is a result of changeable human failings.