US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday pledged $100 million in additional funding to help provide food for some of the millions of people suffering severe hunger in East Africa.

Addressing a forum on food security, Clinton said that the funding was in addition to nearly $650 million already committed by the United States for the Horn of Africa crisis and would help cover operations into next year.

"I am pleased to announce that we are providing an additional $100 million, primarily in food assistance for drought-affected areas in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia," Clinton said.

"This new funding will help us reach more people and support our humanitarian commitment well into 2012," Clinton said.

Clinton did not go into detail about the funding. The previous $647 million was distributed to aid groups and agencies including the UN World Food Program.

The United Nations estimates that more than 13 million people are in need of food assistance in East Africa, which is suffering from its worst drought in years.

The worst-hit nation by far is Somalia, where tens of thousands of people are believed to have already died. The country has effectively lacked a central government for two decades, with the Islamist Shebab guerrillas controlling much of the country.