Berlin:
The United Nations launched its biggest humanitarian appeal ever today to help millions of Syrians suffering the effects of a conflict that has dragged on for more than two years with no end in sight.
UN aid agencies and independent relief organizations need 5.2 billion dollars to fund their operations in Syria and neighbouring countries until the end of the year, the global body said.
The figure presented at an international conference in Geneva represents a sharp increase from the 3 billion dollars the global body had previously estimated it would need this year, of which only 1.4 billion dollars has so far been pledged.
"The situation has deteriorated drastically," said Valerie Amos, the UN's top humanitarian official, according to a draft copy of her speech to diplomats at the conference.
"The crisis has intensified and spread into most parts of Syria."
Late last year the UN estimated that 4 million people needed aid inside Syria, a figure that has now grown to nearly 7 million.
Meanwhile, the flood of refugees to Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt has swelled to over 1.5 million.
Syria's pre-war population was estimated at about 22 million. "The human misery behind those figures is horrific and tragic," said Amos, citing the toll of more than 80,000 deaths since the uprising against Bashar Assad began in March 2011.
"It's estimated that two years of conflict have set back Syria's development by two decades," she added. The global body said 2.98 billion dollars was needed to help people who have fled Syria, and 1.4 billion dollars to pay for aid operations inside the country.