Cuts in food rations for 1.5 million refugees in east Africa, due to funding shortages, could increase school dropouts, crime and malnutrition, a United Nations official said on Wednesday.

With humanitarian needs soaring around the world, donors are prioritising crises in Syria, Yemen and Bangladesh, said Peter Smerdon, the World Food Programme (WFP)'s east Africa spokesman.

As a result, refugees in Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Rwanda fleeing drought and conflict have had maize, beans and vegetable oil rations cut by almost a third over the last seven months, he said.

Read the full article about food ration cuts in east Africa by Nita Bhalla at Reuters.