MOGADISHU, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Two senior UN officials arrived in Mogadishu on Tuesday to underline the immense challenge of persistent food insecurity and the new approach to addressing it.

Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock and UN Development Program (UNDP) Administrator Achim Steiner will also meet with senior government officials, humanitarian and development partners.

"The UN principals will highlight the need to continue life-saving humanitarian assistance as an urgent priority, while simultaneously addressing the root causes of Somalia's recurring humanitarian crises and encouraging investment in the untapped potential of the country," the UNDP said in a statement on Tuesday.

The Horn of Africa nation averted a famine last year when the government and partners heeded early warning reports and ramped up the response.

"But the drought and ongoing conflict, coupled with the resultant displacement of a million people last year, has left six million people in need of humanitarian assistance," said the UNDP.

The UN agency said recurrent drought and subsequent famine risk have become a devastating and unsustainable cycle in Somalia, noting that 4.5 billion U.S. dollars have been spent on emergency responses to save lives in the years since the 2011 famine.