In the DRC, the government and the humanitarian community launched, this Wednesday in Kinshasa, the 2023 humanitarian response plan. More than two billion dollars are needed to finance humanitarian needs in the country.
With our correspondent in Kinshasa, Pascal Mulegwa
Epidemics, violence by armed groups, poverty, natural disasters, malnutrition… Crisis situations have multiplied in recent months and the authorities, together with the humanitarian community, aim to mobilize funds to finance the critical needs of 10 million vulnerable people in the country.
Thus, they estimate that 2.25 billion dollars are needed to respond to the humanitarian crisis in the country, that’s $450 million more than last year.
These needs are exploding due in particular to the resurgence of violence in the province of North Kivu where fighting between the army and the M23 rebels has caused the brutal displacement of more than 600,000 people. In Ituri, localities continue to be the scene of inter-community massacres. And as for South Kivu, diseases like measles continue to claim lives.
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26 million food insecure people
Across the country, more than 26 million people face food insecurity. A situation that makes the DRC the most affected country in the world. But it is not only the country’s internal crises that explain the increase in demand for funds, according to Bruno Lemarquis, the humanitarian coordinator in the country. With the conflict in Ukraine, inflation on the markets has also caused the cost of transport and logistics to rise.
But although humanitarian aid is absolutely essential, it is not the solution to the humanitarian problem. The solution will come from the resolution of conflicts, that is to say the return of peace, security and stability.
Bruno Lemarquis, humanitarian coordinator in the DRC
To obtain the 2.25 billion dollars, he is counting on the goodwill of donors who also have to deal with other crises in the world, notably in Turkey and Syria.
For its part, the government, according to the Minister of Social Affairs, Modeste Mutinga, intends to launch an advocacy campaign around the world to draw the attention of donors to the humanitarian crisis, according to him, ” forgotten in the DRC. Last year, only 49% of the necessary funds were obtained.