File Photo: A dried out bank of a nearly water empty dam is pictured on a farm in Piket Bo-berg, Piketberg, north of Cape Town, on March 7, 2018 as a result of a three-year-long drought. (Xinhua/AFP)

UNITED NATIONS, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Poor rains in 2017 have led to a significant drought affecting much of the Sahel region, leaving more than 10 million people in need of emergency food assistance during this year's lean season, said the United Nations on Friday.

The lean season, normally spanning June to August, already started in March in some areas, leading to drastic losses in livestock. This is causing a crisis beyond what is experienced in normal years for pastoralist and agro-pastoralist communities in particular, Farhan Haq, a UN spokesman, quoted the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs as saying.

Overall, more than 10 million people will require emergency food assistance during the lean season, up from 7.1 million currently, he said.

In addition, 1.6 million children under 5 are projected to be affected by severe acute malnutrition, a 46 percent increase from 2017 estimates, he said.

Mauritania and parts of Burkina Faso, Senegal, Chad and Mali are the worst-affected countries in the Sahel region.