The heads of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and the U.N. World Food Programme were in Washington, D.C., on Monday, in an effort to garner attention and funds for famine relief in South Sudan, Yemen, Somalia and Nigeria.

Visibly frustrated with the slow donor response, José Graziano da Silva, the director-general of the FAO and David Beasley, the executive director of the WFP, reiterated calls for financial support. U.N. agencies know what needs to be done, they said, but they lack the funds to respond effectively.