More than 370,000 children are at risk of starvation in Yemen, the United Nations has said, 15 months into a devastating war.

According to new UN figures, more than 14 million people, about half of the population, are going hungry and are in urgent need of food and medical aid.

Some 500,000 children under the age of five are suffering from malnutrition, with two thirds of them so sick they could die if they don't receive immediate assistance, the UN said.

"At least 370,000 children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition," Mohammed al-Asaadi, a spokesman for the UN children's agency in Yemen told Al Jazeera on Wednesday.

"We're talking about a 50 percent increase compared to the number we had earlier this year."

Severe acute malnutrition is a major cause of death for children under the age of five, and is apparent when a child has a very low weight for their height and becomes visibly frail and skeletal. 

Source: AL JAZEERA