The United States is providing more than $81 million in additional humanitarian assistance as the lean season begins in the drought-affected Sahel region of West Africa.

With this additional contribution, the U.S. government is reaching more than 3 million vulnerable people, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) said in a press release.

Overall, more than 18 million people in the Sahel are at risk of food insecurity this year, of which 8 million people currently face severe food insecurity requiring emergency food assistance in 2012, according to national government and U.N. data. This new assistance brings the total U.S. government humanitarian assistance to the region to more than $308 million in 2012.

"When I was in Rome earlier this year [to attend the World Food Programme Executive Board meeting], I pledged, along with other donors, to match early warnings with early action in the Sahel," said Nancy Lindborg, assistant administrator for democracy, conflict and humanitarian assistance at USAID. "The U.S. government has lived up to that pledge with a strong, smart response that provides life-saving food aid to meet immediate needs and is working to help the people of the Sahel break out of this cycle of chronic crisis."

This additional funding includes more than $56 million to the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP), of which approximately $36 million is for in-kind food aid and distribution and $20 million for the regional purchase and distribution of sorghum, a staple food in the local diet.

"We need to reach people as quickly as possible, so a portion of this food needs to be purchased regionally," Lindborg said. "We also need to ensure that our current humanitarian response contributes to the region's ability to prevail when the next drought strikes."

The latest U.S. contribution will also provide $25 million in assistance through nongovernmental organizations for programs that address acute household food insecurity while supporting key construction and rehabilitation activities that lead to longer-term, more sustainable food security.

Karen Johnson, charge d'affaires of the U.S. Mission to the U.N. Agencies in Rome, said, "This sizable contribution to WFP for the Sahel demonstrates our continued partnership with WFP in fighting hunger worldwide and our confidence in WFP's capacity as an organization."

"As the Sahel enters the lean season, the needs continue to grow -- and they could multiply rapidly," Lindborg said. "We're acting early in partnership with government-led initiatives and with the international community because the United States stands with the people of the Sahel as they face this crisis -- and we can't afford to stand by as circumstances become worse."

The U.S. government's humanitarian assistance includes food aid and nutritional support, plus agriculture, livestock and livelihoods projects across the Sahel that meet immediate needs and work to build community resilience for future food security crises.