UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths said Tuesday that the depletion of funds for humanitarian operations in Yemen will be a death sentence for those who rely on assistance for survival.

Apart from access and security impediments, the biggest challenge, by far, for aid agencies in Yemen is funding. The humanitarian operation, a lifeline for millions of people across Yemen and for these many years, is about to start doing a lot less, he told the Security Council in a briefing.

Aid agencies are quickly running out of money, forcing them to slash life-saving programs. By the end of January, nearly two-thirds of major UN aid programs had already scaled back or closed altogether. In December, the World Food Programme reduced food rations for 8 million people. Starting next month, those 8 million people may get no food at all, or just a reduced ration, said Griffiths.

In March, the United Nations may also have to cancel most humanitarian flights in Yemen due to a lack of funds. Such a move would cause enormous problems for the aid operation, and for the movement of UN staff, he warned.

Looming disruptions to water and sanitation services -- again for want of funds -- could soon deprive 3.6 million people of safe drinking water, putting them -- and especially children under 5 -- at greater risk of deadly diseases. Programs to combat gender-based violence and promote reproductive health are also on the chopping block, as are a range of critical activities in the health, shelter and other sectors, he said.

"This council has heard aid agencies warn about funding shortages in the past. I have listened to my predecessor in this council along these lines. But the scale of the current gaps is unprecedented in Yemen. We have never before contemplated giving millions of hungry people no food at all, or to suspend the flights that we need to get aid workers and supplies into, around and out of the country," said Griffiths.

"If these gaps aren't addressed, it will simply be a death sentence for people whose coping mechanisms in some cases are completely exhausted and who rely on assistance for their survival," he warned.

Griffiths said the governments of Sweden and Switzerland will co-host with the United Nations a high-level pledging event for Yemen on March 16. He implored all donors to use that opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to the people of Yemen.

People's survival cannot rely only on the ebbs and flows of humanitarian funding cycles. A more sustainable approach is both necessary and achievable. The international community must come together to address the underlying drivers of need in Yemen, especially the collapsing economy, he said.

The UN economic framework for Yemen offers a path forward on this. It brings together initiatives that could make an immediate difference in boosting incomes, reducing prices and enhancing macro-economic stability, he said.

This includes foreign-exchange injections, which the government of Yemen is working hard with its partners to secure, as well as policy changes, like resuming civilian flights through Sanaa airport, lifting restrictions on commercial imports and using import revenues to pay public sector salaries.

"It pains me to refer again to these measures, which we have been wanting for so long, and for which we still wait. Paying those salaries will also help preserve basic services. Finding your way out of a crisis is nearly impossible if you're too sick, too hungry or undereducated to make your way in the world. Like economic support, preserving basic services is key to reducing humanitarian needs," he said.

Griffiths stressed that the best thing anyone could do for the people of Yemen would be to find a just, lasting end to the war.

More than 650 civilian casualties were reported in January. That means, on average, 21 civilians killed or injured every day by airstrikes, shelling, small-arms fire and other violence. It is, by far, the highest toll in at least three years, he said.

The recent escalation is the latest turn in a conflict that has now dragged on for seven years. Yemen has become a protracted crisis. A generation of children is growing up with no thought of other than war, he said.