“In eastern DRC, millions of people are on the brink of famine”

For more than twenty years, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has not left the list of humanitarian crises for which the United Nations tries every year to mobilize international solidarity. Hidden by the emergence of new hotbeds of hunger in the Sahel or the Middle East, the deterioration of the situation – mainly in the east of the country due to the violence – has come under the radar. In 2021, however, the DRC is facing the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world.

On the ground, NGOs responsible for responding to needs are sounding the alarm, when only 8% of the necessary funds have so far been raised. The United Nations is asking for 1.8 billion dollars (about 1.5 billion euros), including 830 million for the food emergency alone. For Aline Ouedraogo, director of the NGO CARE in the DRC, “We must act quickly to avoid a disaster”.

In four years, the number of people suffering from hunger has multiplied by more than 2.5 in the DRC. What are the causes ? How is the Covid-19 epidemic making the situation worse?

Nearly 20 million people are in need of emergency food assistance, according to the most recent UN assessments. The vast majority of them live in the eastern provinces – South Kivu, North Kivu, Tanganyika, Ituri – and in the central region of Kasai. The intensification of armed conflicts in some areas has worsened an already extremely fragile situation, forcing families to give up everything to flee the violence. Starting with their fields, which provided them with something to live on.

The 5 million displaced people are the most vulnerable. They depend on odd daily jobs and humanitarian assistance when available. The Covid-19, with the activity restrictions and curfew measures decided to contain the epidemic, obviously deprived many of them of their income. Fear of illness kept them away from health centers where they received, especially children, care for nutritional problems. The easing of restrictions has allowed some families to gain a foothold, but this is only a minority.

You insist on the particularly worrying fate of women …

We know the violence that women suffer in these contexts of armed conflict. They form the poorest and most vulnerable masses, however, often on which family income is based. They go to the field, sell in the market. Some find themselves widows overnight. Insecurity and the Covid-19 derail extremely precarious balances, pushing some towards prostitution and begging. We are also seeing an increase in out-of-school children living on the streets.

The attack on the World Food Program (WFP) convoy near Goma (North Kivu) in February, during which the Italian ambassador was killed, led you to reduce your presence to ensure the safety of your teams?

We had not imagined that an attack of this gravity could occur on this route that all humanitarian actors take regularly. It was a shock that indeed led us to reconsider our security procedures. We did not withdraw, but we suspended all of our activities in the area until last week. So for two months.

Access to populations remains a major challenge. Added to a lack of money, this leads to abandon the most inaccessible areas to focus on those where humanitarian aid can be deployed safely and quickly. But by making this choice, we also know that thousands of people will not receive anything. We ask the United Nations to ensure more humanitarian flights and to make the cost more accessible to NGOs. This would be the way to go to the communities that we cannot reach by road.

President Etienne Tshisekedi has declared a state of siege in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri. Do you think this can help lower tensions?

It’s a signal, but it’s too early to know what that can change. One thing is certain: we have crossed a threshold of humanitarian tragedies which should lead donors to open their eyes and to re-mobilize to avoid a catastrophe. Millions of people are on the brink of famine.