The European Union on Friday allocated an extra 21 million euros (32.4 million dollars) in emergency aid to Somalia, Eritrea and Ethiopia, officials said.

"The challenges in the Horn of Africa are huge and multi- dimensional ... Humanitarian aid is an expression of Europe's solidarity with those who are the most vulnerable," EU Aid Commissioner Louis Michel said in a statement.

Friday's decision allocates 13 million euros in aid to Somalia, with shelter, health care and water among the key targets. The EU's executive, the European Commission, has already sent 14 million euros in food aid to the country this year, officials said.

It also sends 4 million euros to Eritrea to provide food, water, sanitation and basic health services. Since 2006, the commission has sent 16 million euros' worth of aid to Eritrea.

And it sends a further 4 million euros to Ethiopia for health- care, water, sanitation and the care of refugees. Since 2006, the commission has sent the country almost 50 million euros in aid.