UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- The government of Cameroon, the United Nations and its humanitarian partners are seeking to raise 299 million U.S. dollars to support 2.3 million Cameroonians in need this year, a UN spokesman said on Thursday.

"Humanitarian needs in Cameroon have risen by a third this year owing to an upsurge in insecurity and violence, leaving one in six people -- mostly women and children -- requiring assistance," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Dujarric said, "This year, around 4.3 million people need urgent assistance" while the appeal is aimed "to assist 2.3 million people in need."

Last year, 298 million dollars was sought, targeting 1.3 million people, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a press release from Yaounde, Cameroon.

The west-central African country has been hit by clashes between Anglophone and Francophone communities.

"The 2019 humanitarian response plan focuses on providing immediate assistance to save lives, bolstering the protection of affected civilians, identifying risks and vulnerabilities to support the resilience of communities to shocks," OCHA said.

"The crises arising from armed violence add to existing chronic vulnerabilities, including inadequate basic services, epidemics, food insecurity and malnutrition as well as the impact of climate change," it said.