The EU said Friday it is increasing immediately food aid for Africa's Sahel region in an urgent bid to save the lives of half a million people facing shortages.

The European Commission said an extra 10 million euros ($13.5 million) in humanitarian funding would go on addressing "major shortfalls" in food. The crisis is affecting seven million people in Niger, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria and Burkina Faso.

That takes total aid to the area this year to 45 million euros.

Brussels is "immediately increasing its funding to the Sahel region of Africa to safeguard the lives of half a million people in a rapidly developing food crisis," a statement said.

"By acting now and anticipating the crisis ahead we can avoid the terrible suffering that has struck in another part of Africa this year," said Kristalina Georgieva, EU aid commissioner.

Erratic rainfall across the Sahel and increased rice prices on global markets have combined to leave seven million people at "high risk" of food insecurity in 2012, and Niger and Mauritania have already each declared a crisis.