WASHINGTON, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday announced an additional 17 million dollars in humanitarian aid to the Horn of Africa region hit hard by drought and famine, of which 12 million dollars go to Somalia.

In a speech at the International Food Policy Research Institute, Clinton said the U.S. government has in total given away 580 million dollars in humanitarian assistance to the region, including 105 million dollars which was announced by U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday.

“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 at the Washington-based institute.

Starting from last year, the Horn of Africa, which refers to the region consisting of the countries of Somalia, Djibouti, Eritrea and Ethiopia, has been devastated by severe drought, with Somalia being the hardest-hit. A recent UN report updated the number of people affected throughout the region from 11 million people to 12.4 million.

Although efforts have been taken to help the starving people there, “a great deal more must to be done and must to be done fast, ” said Clinton.

In addition to calls for solving the current food crisis, she also urged long-term thinking on food security in order to prevent such kind of disaster from happening again in the future.

Recalling the past crisis, Clinton said: “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.”

She argued 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.