Humanitarian crisis in Ukraine continues to deteriorate: UN agency

The humanitarian crisis in Ukraine continues to deteriorate with 5 million Ukrainians, almost one in nine of the country's total population, in need of humanitarian assistance, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Friday.

Jens Laerke, spokesperson of OCHA, said so far nearly 1.4 million people have been internally displaced by insecurity and active hostilities primarily in the eastern provinces of the country.

Civilians living close to the so-called contact line which separates the government and the non-government controlled areas are among the most vulnerable, he said.

According to him, their humanitarian partners in Ukraine have already provided aid to more than 450,000 people this year, including food, emergency shelter, non-food items, medical consultations, nutrition and psychosocial support to children as well as emergency cash grants.

He noted that to sustain and further scale up the humanitarian response, aid agencies need access to non-government controlled areas to deliver relief to people in urgent need.

According to him, including pledges, only 35 percent of the 316 million U.S. dollars requested have been received so far this year. In a few months' time, the winter season will set in and the needs of the most vulnerable people will increase, Laerke added. Endit