At least three million Afghans are in urgent need of food and could face famine if they do not get help, the United Nations warned Monday. The war-torn country is battling the worst drought in living memory, AFP reported. A dry spell mainly across northern and western Afghanistan has devastated crops, livestock and water supplies, forcing hundreds of thousands of people from their homes. Afghanistan is grappling with a 17-year conflict and preparing to hold a parliamentary election that is three years late. The United Nations is spearheading international efforts to reach 2.5 million of the three million most in need of food by mid-December, according to UN humanitarian coordinator in Afghanistan Toby Lanzer. “Those people are surviving on less than one meal a day and in all likelihood that meal is bread and tea,” Lanzer added. The three million people hardest hit are in “emergency” phase four of a widely-used food insecurity index - one level below famine, Lanzer said.