Britain says new emergency aid assistance for drought victims in the Horn of Africa will target women and children inside Somalia.
Aid Minister Andrew Mitchell says it is vital they are not forced into desperate journeys across the border into Kenya and Ethiopia, where refugee camps are badly overcrowded.
Mr Mitchell was touring Daadab refugee camp in Kenya to see the scale of the crisis and meet some of the refugees. About 400,000 people are in the camp.
''There is an emergency developing of profound proportions,'' he said.
The World Food Programme estimates 10 million people are affected by the worst drought in over half a century. Britain has pledged £52.25 million in emergency aid.
