The United Nations put the world on notice Wednesday that two nations, Haiti and Lesotho, could run critically short of food if their situations don't soon change.

U.N. World Food Programme officials warn that 270,000 Haitians could go hungry if violence raging there continues to delay the delivery of food aid.

A week-old armed rebellion against President Jean-Bertrand Aristide has killed more than 35 people and raged through many towns and cities.

The United Nations delivers food aid around the world.
The United Nations delivers food aid around the world.

A United Nations assessment team has arrived in the Caribbean country to prepare a contingency plan in case the situation worsens.

Haiti is the Western Hemisphere's poorest country. As much as a third of its population of 7 million is chronically malnourished.

Meanwhile, the tiny African kingdom of Lesotho has declared a state of emergency and is appealing for more food aid.

The Rome-based World Food Programme estimates that as many as 700,000 people will need aid in the coming year because of a prolonged drought.

Lesotho, which is surrounded by South Africa, lies at the heart of what aid workers describe as an unprecedented regional disaster. Harvests have been meager in recent years because of the drought and severe insect infestations.

The warnings come as the World Food Programme is already dealing with other severe food shortages in North Korea, Ethiopia and Chad, as well as earthquake-devastated Bam, Iran.