The World Food Program warns that the crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is turning into a “hunger catastrophe”

It is estimated that nearly half a million people have been forced from their homes since fighting broke out in South Kivu at the beginning of December, and that basic services across the province are on the verge of collapse. Health facilities have been looted, medicines are unavailable, and schools remain closed, depriving more than 391,000 children of education. The World Food Program said that the affected communities are facing extremely difficult situations, lacking safe drinking water, medical care and livelihoods.

The violence forced many to flee to neighboring countries in search of food and shelter. The program supports 71,000 new arrivals in Burundi with hot meals at transit centres.

To provide emergency assistance to families affected by the recent crisis, the World Food Program urgently needs $67 million in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and $12 million in Burundi over the next three months.

Cynthia Jones, World Food Programme’s country director in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, warned that the hunger crisis “It threatens to get worse without urgent action,” She added that the displaced are not the only ones in dire need of assistance, but also the families who provide them with shelter “She is already living in critical levels of food insecurity, and is sharing her remaining food with her displaced neighbours, pushing them all towards complete despair.”

added: “Without urgent support and additional funding, we cannot respond to a crisis that threatens to become a hunger catastrophe.”

The World Food Program stressed that this crisis comes at a time when its operations are already suffering from a severe lack of funding. To maintain operations across all its programs over the next six months, WFP urgently needs US$350 million in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, US$39 million in Burundi, and US$17 million in Rwanda.