Inside World's Largest Refugee Camp
MALVEAUX: Yes. These numbers are unimaginable. We're talking about 12 million people in dire need of assistance in the Horn of Africa -- the crisis across Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia, triggered by a severe drought. Somalia is hit the worst. Almost 30,000 children have died in the past 90 days. CNN chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, he arrived in the region just a few hours ago. He joins us live from the largest refugee camp on Earth. It is in Dadaab, Kenya. And, Sanjay -- I mean, it's just kind of unbelievable when you think about the crisis that is taking place there. You can't even wrap your head around it. The United Nations says it's the worst humanitarian disaster in the world. What are you seeing? What is happening there?</s>DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, I have been to a lot of different place, Suzanne, around the world -- in the middle of warzones and natural disasters. And I have never seen a camp quite like this and as big as it is. You know, 400,000 people, they say, are probably in this camp now. Just think about that. That's the size of most medium sized cities in the United States. You know, one thing that really struck me is that this has been an on going problem for a long time. I mean, months if not even longer in terms of this specific camp -- 300,000 people here at this camp several months ago before this drought really hit its peak, and the repercussions of this drought hit its peak, 100,000 people have come into this camp. And, you know, Suzanne, it may come -- you know, they walk sometimes up to 100 kilometers from Somalia to the border, simply to get into a place like this. The drought caused the lost of their crops, which cost lost of their livestock, which meant that they had to food and no water. And they had to essentially just travel sometimes like this with their kids in toe. It's just heartbreaking. By the time they get here, they are so famish, they are so malnourished. They are so much in need of medical care and they are in line, you know, with literally tens of thousands of other people. It's really hard to describe.</s>MALVEAUX: Sanjay, help us to understand, how did we get to this point? Humanitarian groups have been trying to get food and basic supplies there now. But in this day and age, how is it that people can still starve to death?</s>GUPTA: Well, I'll tell you, first of all, with this regard to this drought, it was neither sudden nor unexpected. This shouldn't have been treated as a surprise. It seems to have been from a resource and aid standpoint. They anticipated this worst drought in 60 years and as a result of this drying up of drops and the livestock would not have anything to eat and you see how the cycle continues. There was no preparation. There was not aid taken into these areas ahead of time -- food and water, basic supplies to offset the needs. And there is also the superimposed problem with conflict, this idea that there's this Islamic militant group here called al Shabaab, which for a long time simply did not accept any Western aid into this country. And aid workers in the past have been killed. Even though they have lifted the ban, subsequently, there's still an atmosphere of mistrust, Suzanne, about this whole thing, and that just really makes the problem worse.</s>MALVEAUX: It's such a shame, such a tragedy. Sanjay, thank you very much. We're going to be watching more of your reporting beginning tonight. "AC 360" is moving to 8:00 Eastern, and Anderson Cooper, along with Sanjay Gupta, are going to be reporting live from the Horn of Africa on the region's devastating famine. That is starting tonight at 8:00. It's an "ANDERSON COOPER 360" special report, "Somalia: On the Front Lines of Famine."