The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has issued an appeal for $5.5 million (€4.4 million) to feed about 100,000 people in northwestern Mozambique.
Spokesman Peter Transburg said the WFP had helped 54,000 of the 97,000 in the region needing food. He added the number of people affected by drought could rise because of low rainfall in the central provinces.
"WFP urgently needs $5.5 million to locally purchase roughly 6,000 tonnes of food commodities for assistance programmes across Mozambique in March and April, particularly in the northern province of Tete," he said
"WFP intended to increase assistance to all 97,000 people, including additional populations in Cahora Bassa and Changara, but resource constraints have left us unable to increase assistance."
The government says 450,000 people need food aid in southern and central areas due to poor rains and high food prices and it has asked the WFP to increase its humanitarian assistance in seven provinces until harvest time in April.
Mozambicans in central and southern provinces are still recovering from devastating floods and drought that occurred in early 2008.