“Some 2.5 million people face destitution in Syria as fighting grows ever more intense in populated areas, the United Nations top relief official said [Thursday], calling on the Government and donors to facilitate more aid through non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on the ground,” the U.N. News Centre reports. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos “reported that over a million people have been uprooted and face destitution, and that perhaps a million more have urgent humanitarian needs due to the widening impact of the crisis on the economy and people’s livelihoods,” the news service writes (8/16). “‘Their needs for health care, shelter, food, water and sanitation are growing,’ Amos said,” according to Reuters. “The U.N. and its partners are reaching more people with emergency aid every month. But we are only meeting some of the needs,” she added, the news service notes (8/16).