GUATEMALA CITY, Sept. 11 (UPI) -- The global recession has deprived Guatemala of the means to overcome the annual drought, U.N. World Food Program officials said Thursday.

The agency called for emergency donations to help relieve starvation in the "dry corridor." Emergency food supplies are expected to run out by the end of the month.

The six provinces in the "dry corridor" -- Jutiapa, Santa Rosa, Zacapa, Chiquimula, El Progreso and Baja Verapaz -- experience annual drought and food shortages. The situation is worse this year because of low stocks from previous years, and because the global recession has cut remittances from Guatemalans living in the United States, as well as tourism, exports and foreign investment.

The national hospital in Jalapa reported more than 90 children suffering from malnutrition were admitted in August, three times the number admitted last year. Seventeen children who were admitted between January and July have died.

In some provinces, 60 percent to 80 percent crop loss is expected in the coming harvest.