The United Nations says it needs 3.9 billion dollars to help 16 million people in war-torn Yemen.

Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator Ramesh Rajasingham told the UN Security Council that the biggest constraint right now is funding to help people in Yemen where a civil war has raged for more than seven years.

He said funding has been decreasing in recent years, with last year’s response plan only funded at 58 percent and with the UN World Food Programme in December announcing cuts in its assistance budget for eight million people.