UN reports gains in fight against Somalia's famine

The U.N. is reporting some positive developments in the fight against Somalia's famine. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Wednesday that food assistance is estimated to have reached about 1.85 million Somalis, nearly half of the people in need in the Horn of Africa nation. The World Health Organization, meanwhile, reports that cases of diarrhea and cholera are down, though October rains could pose a high risk of transmission of waterborne diseases in highly populated camps for those displaced by the famine. The U.N. still says 750,000 Somalis are at risk of death from famine in the next four months. Tens of thousands have already died. Six areas in southern Somalia have been declared famine zones, the Associated Press reported.