Ethiopia has appealed for 67.7 million dollars (42.8 million euros) to help at least two million people threatened by drought, the United Nations said Saturday.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said funds would alleviate suffering in the country's four regions, namely Somali, the Southern Nations, Nationalities and People's State, Tigray and Oromia.

"An estimated 2.2 million people are in need of emergency food assistance following inadequate rainfall in some parts of the country during the 2007 meher (rainy) season, which runs from June to October," UNOCHA said in a statement.

Total food requirement is estimated to be about 171,646 metric tons. Attention would also be given to health, nutrition, water, sanitation and agriculture, it added.

OCHA also warned that last year's drought will slash food production in neighburing Djibouti, Eritrea, the northern parts of Kenya and south-central Somalia.

Despite not reaching full drought proportions, poor rainfall in an upcoming season would have serious impacts on health and livelihoods in the entire region, OCHA said, calling for intervention from government and aid groups.