Geneva, (IINA) : A record number of 141 million people across 37 countries are in need of humanitarian assistance this year, the UN said on Wednesday.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said an international aid appeal for 2017 had risen to $23.5 billion, but said plans to help over 100 million people were only one-quarter funded.

In December 2016, the UN launched its 2017 humanitarian appeal for a record $22.2 billion, but international donors have provided just $6.2 billion in funding so far.

“Requirements have since climbed to $23.5 billion, adding $1.3 billion to the requirements and eight million to the number of people to receive aid, leaving the global appeal funded 26 percent halfway through the year,” the OCHA said.

“New disasters and deteriorating protracted emergencies,” were responsible for the increased appeals, it added.

Twenty million people are at risk of famine in Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, and war-torn Yemen. Violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo plus natural disasters in Peru, Madagascar, and Mozambique also required crucial support, the UN added.