Addis Ababa — Ethiopia has appealed for more help to tackle its worsening food crisis amid claims that poor government targeting of aid is exacerbating the situation.

The country's emergency arm, the Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Commission (DPPC), says some 12.5 million people are now in need - a rise of 10 percent.

DPPC head Simon Machale launched the government's latest appeal last Thursday, saying an extra 1.2 million Ethiopians needed food aid. He also said the drought-stricken country required an additional 79,122 mt of grain.

But humanitarian agencies have warned that the government must better target food aid to meet the needs of starving families.

They say families are being forced to share food aid and that some are complaining of "widespread favouritism" by officials distributing food.

The UN's Emergencies Unit for Ethiopia (EUE) says that in certain parts of the country, complaints are mounting among hungry families that they are being left out.

"The irregularities have delayed food distribution for weeks, which caused the malnutrition rate to increase," the EUE said.

Sisay Tadesse, spokesman for the DPPC, told IRIN on Monday the government is trying to improve targeting of food and stop local officials taking advantage.

"We are trying our best to push the regions to target the food better," he said. "But some people are in favour of their families getting more than others. This makes the problem worse and we are trying to take measures against the greedy and voracious people who are committing this crime."

Last week, aid agencies expressed concern that malnourished children were being "slowly starved" because the food ration had been cut from 15 kg to 12.5 kg.