UNITED NATIONS, March 19 (Xinhua) -- UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Mark Lowcock on Monday called for urgent international action to address the humanitarian situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Urgent action is needed as humanitarian needs, caused by internal conflict, have doubled over the last year, Lowcock told the Security Council.

Some 13 million people need humanitarian assistance. More than 4.6 million children are acutely malnourished, including 2.2 million suffering severe acute malnutrition, he said, adding that there are mushrooming epidemics, including the worst outbreak of cholera in 15 years.

Almost 746,000 Congolese have fled to neighboring countries while the DRC itself hosts more than 540,000 refugees, he said.

There is also widespread sexual violence, most of it unreported and unaddressed, and much of it against children, he said.

Lowcock, who traveled to the DRC last week, underscored that underfunding is the single largest impediment to the humanitarian response.

The United Nations appeals for 1.7 billion U.S. dollars, nearly four times of the funds the world body secured last year.

In 2017, the United Nations and its humanitarian partners reached more than 4.2 million people with life-saving protection and aid. This year, the world body aims to reach 10.5 million people, said Lowcock.

Without humanitarian assistance, things would be much worse, he warned.

He also stressed the importance of addressing the root causes of the crisis, including making progress on the political front and fair elections.

Weak governance and the many active armed groups have led to the dire humanitarian situation as well as widespread sexual violence and massive human rights violations, and extreme poverty.

On the political front, an agreement on Dec. 31, 2016 allowed President Joseph Kabila, who has been in power since 2001, to stay on after his term of office expired, on the condition that elections would be held within 2017. But elections were delayed on the grounds of logistics. On Nov. 5, 2017, the country's electoral commission published an electoral calendar for the combined presidential, legislative and provincial elections on Dec. 23, 2018.

The Security Council has repeatedly warned against any further delays in the elections.

Lowcock said progress in the DRC is possible. "Over the last 15 years infrastructure in many major cities has improved, access to education has increased, child mortality rates have fallen and immunization rates have increased."