DRC: "Let us do more to save millions of Congolese people"

Kinshasa, 14 August: On February 13th 2006, the humanitarian community launched its Humanitarian Action Plan for the Republic of Congo in Brussels. The multi-sector strategy is designed to relieve the suffering of about 10 million Congolese. With a budget of 668 million dollars (equivalent of 18 US cents a day) these populations could receive food supplies, have access to drinking water and to primary health care, go to school and protect themselves from armed militia.
To date, thanks to some generous donors, 235.734 million dollars have been collected and used by UN agencies and international NGOs to save millions of lives in the Oriental province, in North and South Kivu, and in Katanga, where the humanitarian crisis is the most acute. Yet six months later, this amount only represents 35 per cent of the total budget.

"All humanitarian actors in DRC welcome the contributions that have already been provided, but we need much more to be more efficient." said Ross Mountain, the Humanitarian Coordinator in Kinshasa.

The financial needs remain enormous. The vital sector of health has only received 19% of the requested budget in six months. Only 5% of the monies needed for shelter and food supplies have been disbursed. Funding is also below the needs for combating gender-based violence and children's enrolment in armed militia. This lack of resources continues to perpetuate the suffering of hundreds of Congolese who already live in a situation of extreme vulnerability, and to jeopardise their lives.

Despite the remarkable efforts made by the international community in the Congolese electoral process, and in areas where tensions are high and the situation volatile, the humanitarian crisis remains a great cause for concern, with a child mortality rate 34 times that of developed countries, 1.66 million displaced people, 1.68 million returnees from neighbouring countries and internal displacement.

In this country of fertile lands, access to food supplies is made almost impossible because of insecurity, leading to high impoverishment of small farmers and malnutrition in their communities. As a result, four children out of 10.000 die each day, twice the humanitarian alert level. According to the NGO Caritas International, the rate of malnutrition in the Katanga province has risen from 5 to more than 8 per cent. 197.500 displaced people in South Kivu, 150.000 displaced within Ituri, and 38.310 displaced people in Katanga, are also threatened by starvation.

The lack of access to drinking water, and the prevalence of diseases that can be easily treated such as malaria, respiratory illnesses and diarrhoea, continue to wipe out entire families.

In North Kivu, malaria kills four people every day, notably among the 106.000 newly displaced people who live in churches and accommodating families. Several areas hit by cholera have been identified in many constituencies in the east of the country.

The low rate of financing does not allow humanitarian agencies to provide enough assistance to the men, women and children who need it. At this rate, the humanitarian actors will have received only 40% of the expected budget by the end of the year. The financial situation of humanitarian actors is so alarming that, for example, the World Food Programme had to reduce its food distribution rations from 30 to 15 days. In mid-July, the WFP turned to the assistance of other international NGOs to deliver food supplies to about 45.000 displaced people living in Geti.

"We have only 50 tons of beans for 12.000 displaced people", says François Djissou, the head of the WFP's office in Bunia, the main town of the district. "WFP needs 1300 tons of food per month for the displaced population of Ituri".

"The international community has done a lot to alleviate humanitarian hardship. Let us not lose the impetus. To bring back hope to all the Congolese people following the historic elections, international solidarity should materialize quickly so that vulnerable populations can join forces to rebuild Congo," added Ross Mountain.