7.7 million in DRC face "acute hunger" UN agencies warn


Around 7.7 million people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) face acute hunger, a 30 per cent increase over the last year, two UN agencies warned on Monday.

A new report released by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) found that the number of people requiring urgent humanitarian food assistance rose by 1.8 million, from 5.9 million.

Hunger is on the rise due to escalating and prolonged conflict and displacement in central and eastern DRC, mainly in the Kasaï and Tanganyika regions, where there has been widespread violence.

In conflict-ridden areas, farmers have seen their villages and fields pillaged and they have not been able to plant for the last two seasons, said Alexis Bonte, FAO acting representative in the DRC.

The humanitarian situation has also been exacerbated by the spread of fall armyworm infestations and cholera and measles outbreaks, he underscored.

According to WFP, between 50 to 80 per cent of people in the areas affected by hunger struggle to find food. In several areas, people only eat once a day.

The situation is set to get worse if urgent support does not come in time, urged Mr. Bonte.

UNRadio//GBC