The UK Government has pledged an additional £26.4m in funding for Somalia to deal with the crisis and World Vision UK wants the government to pressure other leaders around the world to follow suit.
Sarah Pickwick, World Vision UK's senior conflict advisor, said: "We urge International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt to put pressure on the international community to follow Britain's lead in responding urgently to this crisis before it's too late.
"In 2011, a failure by the international community to act quickly meant that 260,000 people died from a devastating famine in Somalia. We cannot and must not let that happen again.
"Somalia cannot wait. Half of the 5.4 million people in need of assistance are children, and 1.2 million children under five years old are projected to be malnourished this year."
The charity commended Mordaunt's commitment to provide extra funding but stressed the importance her "strong words are backed up by equally strong action".
In support of The Federal Government of Somalia, on Tuesday the United Kingdom and United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) convened an event in London to draw urgent attention to the humanitarian crisis in Somalia and the need for a swift and substantial response.
Some of the key actions identified to ensure an appropriate response this year and to build Somalia's resilience to extreme shocks include:
" Early and sustained funding to enable the provision of humanitarian assistance.
" Commitment to widen the resource base and ensure greater predictability, coherence and effectiveness of the aid.
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