80 percent of Yemen's population in need of humanitarian aid: UN

An estimated 21.1 million people in Yemen, 80 percent of the country's population, now require assistance amid rising humanitarian needs in the country, the United Nations said here Friday, quoting new figures from aid organizations.

"Aid organizations released new figures on Friday which show significant increases in humanitarian needs in Yemen since the escalation of the conflict," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here.

"Over 1 million people have been internally displaced and need emergency shelter and essential household items, as do an additional 200,000 vulnerable host community members," he said. " Civilians are bearing the brunt of the violence, with 11.4 million people in need of protection assistance, including 7.3 million children."

An estimated 20.4 million people, nearly 80 percent of the population, require assistance to get access to safe drinking water and sanitation, he noted.

At least 12.3 million people, nearly half the population, are food insecure, representing a 15.7 percent increase since the crisis began, he said.

And 15.2 million people require assistance to obtain basic healthcare; 1.5 million women and children need nutrition services, and 2.9 million children require emergency access to education.

In mid-May, the United Nations said that some 1,850 people had been killed and more than 500,000 displaced as a result of the conflict raging in Yemen since late March.

As of May 15, 1,849 people had been killed and 7,394 had been injured, the UN humanitarian agency said citing numbers from Yemen health facilities.

The United Nations has repeatedly stressed that many of those injured and killed do not pass through health facilities, meaning the actual toll could be higher. Endite