U.S. pledges $17 million more to African famine

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has announced an additional $17 million in humanitarian aid to the Horn of Africa region devastated by drought and famine.

Of the new aid, $12 million dollars will go to Somalia.

She hopes it will reach more than 4.6 million people, AFP reports.

Some 12 million people are in danger of starvation, the United Nations says.

Clinton said the U.S. government has so far given $580 million in humanitarian assistance to the region, including $105 million announced by U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday, Xinhua reports.

"What is happening in the Horn of Africa is the most severe humanitarian emergency in the world today and the worst that East Africa has seen in several decades," Clinton said in a speech at the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington on Thursday.

The Horn of Africa –  Somalia, Djibouti, Eritrea and Ethiopia – has been devastated by severe drought since the beginning of last year, with Somalia being the hardest hit.

The United Nations estimates the number of people affected in the region at 12.4 million.

Clinton urged long-term thinking on food security in order to prevent such massive starvation happening again.

"First comes a severe drought. Then crops fail, livestock perish, food prices soar, thousands of people die from starvation, most of them children, and thousands more pick up and move. Every few decades, the cycle repeats", Xinhua reports.

She said that the food shortages may be "triggered" by drought but not caused by it, rather by weak or non-existent agricultural system.

While hurrying to "deliver lifesaving assistance," Clinton urged the U.S. to maintain focus on the future and continue to invest in long-term food security in countries that are " susceptible to drought and food shortages."

Clinton said in order to avoid future hunger crisis, infrastructure, governance, markets and education must be strengthened.

The United Nations raised its Horn of Africa humanitarian appeal on July 29 to $2.48 billion, but UN aid chief Valerie Amos said that at least $1.3 billion still needs to be raised to meet the appeal, AFP reports.