DADAAB, Kenya (AP) — Senegalese singer Youssou Ndour says African artists should take the initiative to help families affected by famine in the Horn of Africa.

Ndour said Tuesday he hoped to help African artists raise funds through their performances. He said he had received the support of U2 frontman Bono.

Ndour visited northern Kenya’s sprawling Dadaab refugee camp on Tuesday. Most of the more than 400,000 refugees there are Somalis fleeing the country’s 20-year-old civil war and encroaching famine.

The U.N. says over 12 million people in the Horn of Africa, including parts of Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya and Uganda, are affected by the drought and are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance.

Only Somalia is affected by famine. Its civil war prevents aid agencies from reaching families in need.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.