Faced with severe shortages of food and water that have sent prices skyrocketing for staples in the worst-hit parts of the country amid fears of a catastrophic famine, many women and girls are turning to the low-end sex trade, putting themselves at great risk to support themselves and relatives, they said,

At least 40 people, mainly children in Kenya's northeast, have already died of drought-related malnutrition and associated illnesses as have thousands of livestock and some 2.5 million people in the country are expected to need food aid to survive by the end of next month, according to UN agencies.

But as deadly as famine may be, social workers said that extreme hunger may lead to an exponential jump in Kenya's already high HIV/AIDS infection rate as women turn to prostitution.

Reliable statistics about how many women and girls the drought has forced into prostitution are not available, but several groups said there had been a noticable and worrying increase in the number of sex workers along highways and streets around Kenya in recent weeks.

The group German Agro Action said in a statement it "has observed a strong increase in poverty-driven prostitution as the drought continues in Kenya," noting it was particularly visible along the main highway linking the Indian Ocean port of Mombasa to the capital and central Africa.

"More and more girls are standing at the road side, many of them not even 13 years of age," said Iris Krebber, the head of group's Nairobi office. "Because food reserves have run out and mothers can no longer afford to feed their children, many decide that the only way out is to 'go to the street'."

Such prostitution accounts for between 10,000 and 20,000 new HIV infections a year, according to a 2004 stude and Krebber said she feared that "hunger will now push the AIDS statistics even higher."

German Agro Action, which runs agricultural and social programs in Kenya, is not alone in its assessment.

"The situation is actually very bad, especially in towns in the rural areas and where the drought is most biting," said one aid worker who requested anonymity.

"I completely agree that the current drought has aggravated the situation," said Elizabeth Nyambura, the legal advisor for the African Network for the Prevention and Protection Against Child Abuse and Neglect. "Child prostitution, in particular, is on the increase."

"Parents are unable to provide for their families, children cannot go to school because parents have lost their source of livelihood," she told AFP. "Now children have to contribute to the welfare of the family and the only way out is for the girl-children to venture into prostitution."

"Poverty as a whole and hunger has driven women and very young girls into prostitution," said Florence Machio, regional cordinator for AfricaWoman, an organisation that promotes the women's rights around the continent.

About seven percent of Kenya's 32 million inhabitants are estimated to be infected with HIV and AIDS has killed about 1.5 million in Kenya since 1984, but Machio said the fear of the deadly disease was not detering women from prostitution as they are faced with equally dismal prospects of dying from hunger.

"This is something that should be addressed," she told AFP. "As much as it is not highlighted as much as deaths caused by hunger, it is there, and it can be a source of very big problems in the society."

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