The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said on Friday that it was increasingly alarmed over the humanitarian crisis in Iraq and distressed over the lack of international response.

"We are now facing an even larger humanitarian crisis than we had initially prepared for in 2002 to 2003," UNHCR spokesman Ron Redmond told reporters.

There are now hundreds of thousands more displaced than the 600,000 refugees planned for three years ago, yet the agency is "sorely lacking" in funding to deal with the situation inside and outside the country, Redmond said.

The international community has provided billions of dollars in funding for recovery and development programs for Iraq, but many of the programs have not been implemented because of security concerns, according to the spokesman.

He added that humanitarian programs inside Iraq and in neighboring states remain neglected.

The agency called for a renewed focus on the humanitarian crisis in Iraq and the neighboring region, indicating that donors should help more to deal with the massive numbers of Iraqis being displaced.