Humanitarian organisations are warning of deteriorating conditions in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), as dwindling funding limits their ability to intervene in the region.
Humanitarian organisations including the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) say that lack of funding may soon leave them unable to help millions of Congolese people facing hunger, starvation and lack of access to essential services.
Fighting in the east of the country has ripped through civilian populations and displaced swathes of communities, the UN says.
In a media briefing held in Geneva on 22 August, WFP’s DR Congo lead Peter Musoko said that the agency is unlikely to offer substantial help unless it receives an additional $567m (£445m) required to fund its efforts over the next six months.
“Eight months into 2023, less than a third of required funding has been received for the modest humanitarian response that was planned in DR Congo. It is not acceptable that aid agencies are forced to make impossible choices around who can and cannot be helped,” NRC secretary-general Jan Egeland said on Wednesday.
Mr Egeland added that it was unacceptable that many wealthy nations, corporations and individuals have ignored the crisis.
Source:Fiilafmonline/BBC
