People in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo need much more international help than they’re getting, the United Nations (UN)‘s top aid official said Thursday after visiting conflict zones, according to UN News. Tom Fletcher, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, spoke from the Goma region, where Rwanda-backed M23 rebels took over the main city in January. People have suffered “decades of trauma,” he said. The last few months have been “particularly horrific for so many.”
The fighting between M23 rebels and Congo’s army has led to serious human rights abuses, including potential war crimes. Fletcher said the most striking thing was hearing stories of sexual violence from women trying to rebuild their lives. “They have been through hell,” he said. More than 20 million people need relief help, including 5 million already living in displacement camps before the latest fighting started.
Aid funding has dropped dramatically just when it’s needed most. The US historically funded 70% of UN aid programs in Congo, but Fletcher said “we’re seeing most of that disappearing.” This forces aid workers to make “brutal choices, life-and-death choices” about who gets help. “For these women – the survivors of sexual violence, for the kids who told me they needed water, for the communities that told me they needed shelter, medicine, these cuts are real right now and people are dying because of the cuts,” Fletcher explained.
UN teams are still working hard to reach communities, trying to get the airport and roads reopened and clear checkpoints that block aid deliveries. Fletcher announced a plan to save 114 million lives this year, but it needs funding equal to just 1% of what the world spent on defense last year.
Fletcher hasn’t given up hope despite the challenges. He believes there’s still support for humanitarian work and says communities show remarkable determination to help each other survive.
