25 December 2011 Last updated at 05:46

In pictures: Saving baby Umi

This year's drought in East Africa - the worst in 60 years - has affected more than 12 million people. One of those was three-month-old baby Umi. She came to symbolise the plight of the victims. Her mother, Amina, took her to a clinic in Madhalibah, 40km (25 miles) outside Habaswein, in north-east Kenya.

Umi and her mother Amina photographed in July

“My child was sick since birth with diarrhoea,” said Amina, who was trying to breastfeed but was not able to produce enough milk. Mother and child were referred in July by staff from the UK charity Save the Children to Habaswein District Hospital because Umi weighed just 1.7kg (3.7lbs).

The remains of a dead animal photographed in Wajir, north-eastern Kenya

Amina has two other children. At the time of the referral she said: "My livestock died because of the drought and this leaves my children malnourished. The drought forced me to migrate from my original location and that was the end of my life. I was dependent on livestock."

People roll and drag water containers in Wajir, in north-eastern Kenya, July 2011

"The drought also caused harsh weather conditions, separation of my family members," said Amina. "I have not seen some of my family members for four months. I fear that my children might die of the drought." Thousands of people like Amina in this arid area of Kenya lost their livelihoods and tens of thousands of Somalis crossed over to Kenya and Ethiopia, often on foot, in search of help, many children dying on the way.

Baby Umi and her family photographed in July

After nine days in hospital, Umi had gained 200 grams. She received food via a feeding tube in the nose or with a cup.

Children photographed filling up containers from rain water in Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya - November 2011

Rains have now come to many of the drought-stricken areas, but many communities still rely on aid for survival. Based on data collected by the UN, latest UK estimates show that of the 50,000 to 100,000 people who may have died due to drought-related causes, more than half were children aged under five.

Umi and her mother, Amina, photographed in October 2011

Thanks to the treatment Umi received, she is now a healthy baby, and is fast gaining weight. After six weeks she was discharged from hospital - and at six months weighed 3.7kg.

Andrew Mitchell, the UK’s foreign aid minister, visited Umi in hospital in July at the height of international efforts to raise awareness about the plight of the drought victims. “The story of baby Umi really demonstrates how effective British aid is in some of the most desperate parts of the world," he told the BBC.

A nurse helps a famine displaced small boy suffering from diarrhoea at Banadir Hospital in Mogadishu, Somalia, on 5 December 2011

But the crisis is far from over - and aid agencies say while the situation is improving in Kenya and Ethiopia, Somalia is still a worry. Last month, the UN said that famine no longer existed in three of Somalia's six worst-affected areas. However, it said a quarter of a million Somalis still faced imminent starvation.

Girls stand in line for food aid on 14 August 2011 in Mogadishu, Somalia

Somalia has has been racked by fighting between various militias for the past 20 years. The areas worst hit by famine are in the south and centre, which are under the control of the al-Qaeda linked al-Shabab group, which has banned foreign aid agencies from its territory. (Photos: Save the Children/AFP/Reuters)

Africa

In pictures: Saving baby Umi

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