Recently, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Food Programme warned that the food security situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is “shocking”, and one in three people in the country is in a state of high food insecurity, a record high.
According to the United Nations news website, the two agencies pointed out in the Integrated Stage Food Security Classification (IPC) report jointly released on April 6 that about one-third of the population of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Central Africa is in a state of high food insecurity, with an estimated number of 27.3 million people, including nearly 70 million. 0,000 people in a state of emergency of severe hunger. Therefore, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is currently the country with the largest number of people in urgent need of humanitarian assistance in the world.
Peter Musoko, the representative of the World Food Programme in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, said that the report was the first time in the history of the agency to analyze the situation of the vast majority of the population in the Democratic Republic of the Congo by holding relevant data, which helped people to understand more accurately the “amazing” food in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Insecurity.
The report points out that the conflict is the main cause of food insecurity in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, especially in the Kasay region in the eastern and central part of the country. Aristie Ongo Obame, the representative of FAO in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, said, “The recurrent conflicts in eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the suffering they bring remain very worrying.”
CNN reported that more than 40 armed groups are currently active in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Food insecurity is particularly serious in parts of the country’s North Kivu Province. An armed group associated with the extremist organization Islamic State and called the Democratic Alliance Army often attacks villages locally. War and conflict forced many villagers to leave their homes.
In addition, the report also pointed out that the recession of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 epidemic are also key factors contributing to the deterioration of the country’s food crisis. In addition, the spread of diseases such as measles has made the plight of the people in the country even worse.
In the face of these challenges, UN agencies plan to provide emergency and long-term livelihood assistance to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. FAO said that this year’s priorities are to help more families in the country have access to farming tools and seeds, provide high-quality livestock to improve nutrition, support food processing and storage, and help small farmers combat animal and plant diseases.
