Updated March 03, 2017 18:47:58

Photo: The images trickling out of Yemen, North Nigeria and South Sudan are horrifying. (Supplied: Save the Children)

Foreign aid spending is at its lowest level in eight years under the Turnbull Government, and amid warnings of famine, there are now calls for Australia to re-examine its humanitarian commitments ahead of this year's budget.

From Yemen, to North Nigeria, to South Sudan — the images trickling out are horrifying. They show emaciated children in crowded feeding clinics, in desperate need of food.

"I'm really quite personally shocked about this warning because it does feel like 1984 Ethiopia all over again, and we remembered those images and said never again," World Vision's Tim Costello said.

The United Nations (UN) says war and drought across the Middle East and North Africa has left 20 million people at risk of starvation in the next six months if aid is not urgently increased.

The screams of eight-year-old Faris echo down the hall: "Please doctor, don't. Please doctor, you're hurting me!" This is Yemen's busy Al Jumhori hospital, and Faris is one of the young victims of an almost forgotten war.

Mr Costello, who has recently returned from Somalia, said seeing malnourished children was "horrifying".

"When you hear 20 million people at the risk of starvation, it's a statistic," he said.

"When you look into the face of a malnourished child it literally devastates you. Your gut absolutely is turned.

"Whether it's Somalia, whether it is Yemen, or whether it's South Sudan, this is big. It's horrifying".

The UN says it urgently needs $5.8 billion in the next four weeks to avoid what it calls a "catastrophe", but so far it has only received half-a-billion dollars.

This week, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop announced an extra $20 million in funding for famine relief efforts in Somalia and South Sudan, but aid agencies say it is not enough.

Since 2015, the Coalition has cut more than $1 billion in foreign aid.

Australia's aid budget is now at the lowest level it has been in eight years, at just 0.2 per cent of gross national income (GNI).

In contrast, the UK, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands spend 0.7 per cent of GNI.

"This is not who [we] are," Mr Costello said.

"I know Australians would be saying we can do better. We should be increasing aid."

Photo: World Vision's Tim Costello says looking into the face of a malnourished child is "devastating". (Supplied: Save the Children)

'Response needs to go where there's need'

In Yemen — the poorest country in the Middle East — almost half-a-million children suffer from severe acute malnutrition, while 7 million people need urgent food aid.

It's a war that has killed thousands of civilians and displaced hundreds of thousands more, but remains out of sight and out of mind for most of the world, writes Adam Bailes.

Out of all the countries facing starvation, it is classified as the largest humanitarian disaster.

But currently Australia gives no direct aid funding to the country.

"From our perspective, the humanitarian response needs to go where there is the greatest need," said Helen Szoke, chief executive of Oxfam Australia, which has projects in Yemen.

The NGO is calling for the Turnbull Government to immediately allocate funds to the country.

"We have indicated our view to DFAT [Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade] and the minister, and you would have to ask them about their own prioritisation," Dr Szoke said.

A spokesperson for Ms Bishop said decisions on Australia's overall aid budget would be made via "normal budget processes".

Penny Wong, the shadow minister for foreign affairs, said Labor went to the last election with a policy of increasing the foreign aid budget.

Topics: government-and-politics, federal-government, relief-and-aid-organisations, disasters-and-accidents, yemen, somalia, south-sudan

First posted March 03, 2017 10:51:35