The United States is offering an additional 120 million dollars in aid to help the drought-hit Horn of Africa countries to cope with the crisis, the White House said on Tuesday.

The aid aims to prevent a worsening of the situation on the ground in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia as the lateness and insufficiency of rains are expected to have a "significant" negative impact on crop production there, White House spokesman Jay Carney said in a statement.

He said over 9 million people remain in need of emergency assistance since the worst drought in 60 years struck the Horn of Africa in 2011, and the additional contribution has brought total U.S. aid to more than 1.1 billion dollars.

"We urge the international community to continue their support and assistance to those in need of emergency assistance in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia with the objective of building resiliency in order to save lives," the spokesman added.