(Bloomberg) -- Disease outbreaks and climate-related health emergencies in the Horn of Africa are at the highest this century as large swathes of the region battle the worst drought in at least 40 years.

The World Health Organization issued the bleak assessment on Thursday and called for world leaders to agree on stemming the rise in temperatures at the United Nations climate summit that starts on Sunday. 

The COP27 summit, held in Egypt, is set to focus on the needs of poorer nations adapting to climate change. 

“As a continent we are the least responsible for global warming, but among the first to experience its tragic impact,” Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO’s regional director for Africa, said Thursday. “It is critical that world leaders reach an agreement.” 

About 47 million people on the greater peninsula -- which spans seven countries from Uganda to Djibouti -- already face acute hunger, and health risks are rising as some areas enter a fifth dry season while others grapple with flooding and conflict.

The WHO estimates that the seven countries recorded 39 acute public health events in the 10 months through October. With two months of this year left, that’s the highest tally since 2000. 

Disease outbreaks already include the Marburg virus, cholera and wild polio, straining often limited resources. The WHO would need $124 million to mount an effective response -- and the agency estimates that it’s received about a third of that sum so far.

“The dire conditions in the greater Horn of Africa are a perfect storm for outbreaks,” Moeti said, “which unless we act quickly will flare up with increasing intensity.” 

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