FORMER prime minister Gordon Brown has helped to launch a petition urging the government to hold an emergency multi-nation conference to raise money to tackle the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.

He warned that five million children and four million adults in Afghanistan are in immediate danger of acute malnutrition, and that 23 million people face famine in the coming months.

The petition is a direct call to the public to add their voices to the appeal for action to save Afghan lives.

Mr Brown pressed for the 40 countries that joined the US-led coalition in Afghanistan to help secure over £3 billion, which the United Nations says is desperately needed to prevent famine hitting millions of people.

The former Labour leader said the nations “all should now contribute to peace.”

Kirsty McNeill of Save the Children, which is helping to organise the petition, said: “Every province in Afghanistan is facing critical levels of hunger.

“It’s now a race against time to get families the urgent support they need to survive.

“If no action is taken in the coming months, up to one million children could be at risk dying from malnutrition.”