The World Food Programme (WFP) is joining calls for the international community to act as a surge in fighting – including heavy artillery fire – displaces hundreds of thousands of people in camps in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. By Monday (27 January), the escalation of violence had overwhelmed Goma, the largest city in the east.
“Goma falling is the worst thing that we could possibly imagine happening in North Kivu,” said WFP Country Director for DRC, Peter Musoko. “It means we have an urban city centre with a lot of very frustrated and vulnerable people all looking for assistance. We face the gigantic task of determining who is the most vulnerable.”
WFP is monitoring the situation to deliver aid where possible. For now, “safety is paramount,” said Musoko. The aim is to reach 800,000 people in North Kivu, South Kivu, and Ituri – 5.1 million people were already displaced across the three eastern states before the current crisis.
People are trekking long distances with all the belongings they can carry in the hope of reaching shelter with relatives, often in cramped conditions. They need bedding, medical supplies, food and clean water – while women and girls are particularly at risk in a country where rape is widespread.
Before the recent escalation, nearly a quarter of the country’s 25.6 million people were already in ‘crisis’ and ‘emergency’ levels of food security, according to the Integrated Food Phase Classification. Over the next five months, 4.5 million children aged under 5, and 3.7 million pregnant and breastfeeding women are expected to face acute malnutrition.
When Musoko left Goma on Friday, WFP was still delivering assistance. “Around midday, we had to call everyone back into the office – the situation started looking completely unpredictable,” he said.
“What we need right now is urgent financing – even before we get back on the ground – so we can move quickly to reel back this spiralling crisis. We have to fuel hope with action.”
That requires donors to step up. Failing to means “we would not only see immense suffering in the eastern parts of DRC, but also outflows across the region and even the continent.”
He added: “DRC is forgotten. People find it very complicated. But too many people have died. Too many people are suffering. This is an unnecessary conflict, causing unnecessary suffering. We need the international community to come together and say ‘enough.’”
WFP needs US$410 million to continue its operations across DRC through to June. This will bolster assistance to 1.5 million people per month in parts of the east where needs are highest, supporting nutrition clinics, school feeding programmes, and projects supporting female farmers and small businesses.
“There is not a minute to lose,” said Musoko.
