An estimated 17 million people are in need of emergency assistance while over 25 million others face starvation in the Horn of East and Central African regions.

In a report released Monday by Oxfam, an international Aid agency, Kenya has nearly 10 million people faced with famine due to the poor rains and the escalating food prices.

The report dubbed "A Billion Hungry People" shows poor government policies that have been short-term in dealing with the food crisis as one of the main cause.

"Leaders have a window of opportunity to prevent worse situations due to the economic crisis, climate change, energy and water scarcity. They must act urgently to turn their plan into co-ordinated actions that address immediate needs and begins to implement long-term reforms in tackling the issues. Failure to act will see millions of people face hunger." Oxfam Kenya Country Director Phillippa Crosland-Taylor said.

On the global food price fluctuation, the report shows that although the prices have fallen in the last few months they are not back to their previous levels and are likely to rise sharply in the near future.

Oxfam's regional campaign manager for the Horn, East and Central African region Michael O'Brien regretted that little had been done to tackle the situation of food insecurity globally.

He claimed there was no proper coordination in the distribution of relief food in all levels such that the rations were not adequately reaching the beneficiaries at the grassroots.

O'Brien added that international institutions and donors must reverse decades of under-investing in agriculture and scrap blatantly distorted policies such as bio-fuel subsidies that make things worse.

The report comes weeks after the government declared the food shortage a national emergency and appealed for sh37 billion to deal with the crisis attributed to high food prices, drought and the effect of post election violence that disrupted farming in the Rift Valley.