The German government pledged on Saturday to increase its relief aid to the drought-stricken Horn of Africa by 5 million euros ($7 million), just a day after the United Nations released figures which showed German aid contributions paled in comparison to nations such as Japan and Canada.

The German ministries of development and foreign affairs said that Berlin's previous humanitarian relief to the Horn of Africa had totaled 3.6 million euros for the year 2011. The new aid pledge is set to more than double that number to 8.6 million euros.

Figures compiled by the UN World Food Programme (WFP), however, showed that Berlin had given the organization around $1.4 million (1 million euros) this year, compared to the $25 million donated by Japan and the $22 million donated by Canada.

Berlin rejects criticism

Germany's development ministry rejected the implicit criticism on Friday, saying that Berlin was "comprehensively engaged" in rural development in the Horn of Africa. German Chancellor Angela Merkel recently returned from a trip to Africa, where she sought to deepen economic ties between Germany and Angola, Kenya and Nigeria.

The drought currently affects 11 million people - mostly refugees, women and children - in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Djibouti. UN aid organizations need 1.1 billion euros to ease the impact of the worst drought in decades, according to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Currently, half that amount has been pledged.

Author: Spencer Kimball (dpa, dapd, KNA)

Editor: Andreas Illmer