Khartoum, Feb 27 (IANS): The UN has said that nearly 4 million children and women in Sudan are suffering from acute malnutrition.

"About 4 million children under five and pregnant and lactating women are estimated to be acutely malnourished and need humanitarian lifesaving nutrition services in 2023, of these 611,000 are facing severe acute malnutrition," the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Sudan (OCHA) said in a statement.

The malnutrition situation is exacerbated by multiple factors, including inadequate dietary intake, high prevalence of disease, inadequate care and feeding practices, as well as suboptimal health and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services, Xinhua news agency quoted the OCHA as saying.

It added that the deteriorating economy, inflation, high food, and displacement contributed to the worsening of the nutrition situation in 2022 and is likely to continue into 2023.

According to an earlier UN estimate, one-third of Sudan's population (about 15.5 million people) needs humanitarian assistance this year, while the world body says it will provide assistance to 12.5 million people in need.