NAIROBI, March 27 (Reuters) - The U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) said on Tuesday it plans to halt food aid deliveries to 53,000 people in drought-prone Djibouti due to lack of funds.

"It is vital that we get donations now," WFP country director Benoit Thiry said in a statement. "The longer it takes to receive donations, the longer it will take to get the feeding programmes back on track."

A drought across east Africa that began in late 2005 hit pastoralists in arid parts of Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somalia particularly hard, sometimes wiping out whole herds.

WFP said it needed $1 million now to avoid cancelling food handouts to some 53,000 people in May -- just before the start of the dry season when families face the most severe shortages.

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