Forty-one years ago today, on October 18, 1984 (September 24, 1984), Africa was facing an unprecedented drought. Ethiopia was the worst. On October 18, 1984, Africa was experiencing the largest drought and famine of the century. Thirty-four countries from north to south Africa were suffering from severe drought, 24 from famine, and 150 million to 185 million people were threatened by hunger. Rivers dried up, fields cracked, yellow sand filled the area, livestock died, and at least 10 million people were displaced from their homes in search of food. The Red Cross in Geneva said 16 million people died of hunger or malnutrition-related diseases in Africa in 1983, and the death toll in 1984 must be higher. The United Nations called the drought "the greatest human disaster in modern African history." This drought far exceeds the 1973-1974 Sahel drought that killed 300,000 people. In the past three years, the rainfall in West Africa has been the lowest in three or four decades. The Gambia River, which used to be rough and rough, has stopped flowing upstream; Mauritania has only a quarter of the usual rainfall, and the pastures are barren; northern Ethiopia has been without rain for many years; and southern Africa has also experienced a drought not seen in 50 years. The worst-hit country is Ethiopia. About 9 million of the country's 42 million are threatened by famine. According to reports, more than 300,000 people have now starved to death. Witnesses say that after years of no rain in the northern region, 10,000 trees have withered and the food stock has been exhausted. At a relief station in Volo province, there is only enough food for 3,000 people, while 100,000 people are waiting for relief. The daily death toll is 100. In a dusty tent, a man described as withered puts his yellow-faced and skinny son in a cradle, then picks up a bowl of porridge and gently delivers it to the child's lips. The scrawny child just keeps his eyes open, and he can no longer eat. On the way to the relief station, people wait patiently for passing cars to distribute food. In the Bati refugee camp, about 16,000 people are packed into a tent city equivalent to a football field. In December 1983, 120 people died a day in the camp, most of them children. The lives of African refugees are miserable. They flock to some government-run relief stations, but there is not enough food or medicine there. They sit on the filthy ground all day, waiting for a little food. During the day, the sun shines and the temperature is 38 degrees Celsius, and the refugees have nothing to shelter from the sun; at night, the temperature plummets, and they do not have enough blankets to keep out the cold. The drought has rapidly expanded the original 5 million refugee ranks in Africa, and an average of 3,000 refugees from neighboring countries are added to the refugee ranks every day. On October 30, 1984, the Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations announced that the World Food Program would provide emergency food assistance equivalent to $15.80 million to more than 1.1 million disaster victims and refugees in six African and Latin American countries. The six countries are Kenya, Rwanda, Lesotho, Jordan, Mexico, and Ethiopia. More than 1 million people in the first four countries will receive $12.60 million, while 103,000 refugees in the last two will receive $3.20 million.