More than 100 people have starved to death in a single region of Somalia within 48 hours due to a severe drought, the country’s prime minister has said.

In the first drought-related death toll announced since Somalia's government declared a national disaster on Tuesday, Hassan Khaire told the nation’s drought committee 110 people had died from hunger in two days in the southwestern Bay region alone.

It comes amid warnings of potential for a full-blown famine, with the UN estimating that five million people in the country are currently in need of aid.

Thousands have been arriving in Somalia's capital Mogadishu over recent days in search of food aid, with 7,000 internally displaced people having recently checked into one feeding centre.

Somalia was one of four regions singled out by the UN secretary-general in February for a £3.6 billion aid appeal to avert catastrophic hunger and famine, along with northeast Nigeria, South Sudan and Yemen — all countries connected by a thread of violent conflict.

Last month, Save the Children warned Somalia was at “tipping point” and that the intensifying food crisis was on track to become “far worse” than the 2011 famine, which claimed 260,000 lives.

The NGO claimed that while 12 million people in the area were likely to be affected — with 50,000 children alone facing death — the nation was in danger of being forgotten due to donors being pulled in too many different directions.

110 people died from hunger within 48 hours in the southwestern Bay region alone, according to Somalia government (Save the Children)

Around 363,000 acutely malnourished children “need urgent treatment and nutrition support, including 71,000 who are severely malnourished,” the US Agency for International Development’s Famine Early Warning Systems Network recently warned.

The government has meanwhile said the widespread hunger “makes people vulnerable to exploitation, human rights abuses and to criminal and terrorist networks.”

There is the additional threat of cholera and other diseases due to lack of clean water in many areas, UN experts said, with some deaths from cholera having already been reported.

The UN humanitarian appeal for Somalia this year is £703 million, which is required to provide assistance to 3.9 million people, while the UN World Food Program recently requested an additional £21 million plan to respond to the drought.

Surviving Somalia: Photographer Ed Ou visits a food project as famine strikes in the East African nation Show all 11 1 /11 Surviving Somalia: Photographer Ed Ou visits a food project as famine strikes in the East African nation Surviving Somalia: Photographer Ed Ou visits a food project as famine strikes in the East African nation Nadifo Yusuf, aged 25, with her five-month-old child at the New Shabelle Internally Displaced People (IDP) camp in Bosaso, Somalia. Says photographer Ed Ou: 'She fled on the back of a truck with her family after her husband was killed in the south of Somalia. She paid $30 for a truck ride, but was robbed by bandits in the night, which happens to a lot of people - so she'd had to beg for food along the way.' Ed Ou Surviving Somalia: Photographer Ed Ou visits a food project as famine strikes in the East African nation A mother collects food from Save the Children. 'People had to queue for two hours to get food and it was very hot. They get given a bottle of cooking oil, then maybe 15 or 20 packets of a very high-calorie peanut paste specifically designed for children - it's got 500 calories per pack. They also get high-nutrient flour which they then cook up into bread.' Ed Ou Surviving Somalia: Photographer Ed Ou visits a food project as famine strikes in the East African nation Severely malnourished 11-month-old, Naimia Isaq Abdi, at a Stabilisation Centre in Bosaso. She weighs in at 5.5kg. 'They had to weigh people to see if they qualified, if they were eligible, as well as tracking whether they were growing - they would weigh the children in these buckets and then measure their arms.' Ed Ou Surviving Somalia: Photographer Ed Ou visits a food project as famine strikes in the East African nation Habibo Ali Mursal, aged 30, lies with her malnourished one-year-old baby, Sharifo Malin Mohamed, who weighs 5kg. 'Stabilisation centres are for more extreme cases, for people who are so malnourished they can't eat properly. The nurses pass out water and food but there are some children who have to take food in through the nose, perhaps if they're not conscious.' Ed Ou Surviving Somalia: Photographer Ed Ou visits a food project as famine strikes in the East African nation 'The food was supplied by the World Food Programme. Everyone had an identification card which was filled in and basically tracked how big their child was. It's pretty orderly - maybe because it's women and children. They knew they were about to get their food, it wasn't a desperate grab.' Ed Ou Surviving Somalia: Photographer Ed Ou visits a food project as famine strikes in the East African nation 'There were 6,000 people just at the New Shabelle camp. On my last day, there was a food hand-out and it seemed like they gave almost all of it out - they got through 50 boxes of peanut paste. Looking at the scope of the food hand-outs, you realised demand outweighed supply.' Ed Ou Surviving Somalia: Photographer Ed Ou visits a food project as famine strikes in the East African nation A Somali woman stands over the only goat she has left in her pen inKarkaar, Somalia. 'She had over 60 goats, but they all died in the recent drought.' Ed Ou Surviving Somalia: Photographer Ed Ou visits a food project as famine strikes in the East African nation Yusuf carries water to her tent. 'Like any IDP camp they are in a pretty desperate situation. A lot of these camps have existed for some time but recently there's been a big influx. The toilet is an open field right by the water supply.' Ed Ou Surviving Somalia: Photographer Ed Ou visits a food project as famine strikes in the East African nation The New Shabelle camp. 'Most of the shacks are made out of sticks - sticks are constructed into domes and then laced with cardboard and fabric, as much as they can.' Ed Ou Surviving Somalia: Photographer Ed Ou visits a food project as famine strikes in the East African nation A new arrival builds a makeshift shelter. 'During the time we were there, we met new arrivals. There were maybe about 30 coming each day, but there are many different camps - there are 31 camps just around Bosaso - so it's hard to tell how many people are arriving.' Ed Ou Surviving Somalia: Photographer Ed Ou visits a food project as famine strikes in the East African nation Aniso Osman Hussein, aged 13, with her malnourished brother, Diini Osman Hussein, aged three and weighing 10.5kg, at the stabilisation centre. 'People are getting the amount of food they need - it's just there's a lot of people there now that need it. In order for everybody to get enough food, more needs to get there.' Ed Ou

The death toll comes amid warnings that 100 million people worldwide are facing acute malnutrition and risk starving to death.

Dominique Burgeon, director of the emergency division at the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said the number of people at risk would continue to grow, costing millions of lives, if humanitarian aid is not paired with more support for farmers.

The British Government allocated Somalia £100m of humanitarian funding last month, including emergency food and safe drinking water for one million people.