Acute underfunding chokes off aid to desperate Congolese

With violence and displacement affecting swathes of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Eastern region, a lack of resources is hampering UNHCR’s response

Across North Kivu province it is estimated that more than half a million people have fled their homes this year alone, creating the highest concentration of internally displaced people in the conflict- and Ebola-affected central African country.

Tens of thousands in Beni and surrounding areas have already abandoned their homes in search of safety, and the total continues to rise. At the same time, many of those displaced up to a year ago still have no proper place to stay.

Across this vast country, UNHCR – the UN Refugee Agency – is doing what it can to help the most vulnerable families, through shelter projects, small-scale cash grants, and protection monitoring and support to survivors of human rights violations.

So far the Agency has received just 31 per cent of the US$369 million funding requested for the response for displaced people in DRC and for Congolese refugees in other African host countries this year.

“We need to operate in war zones and areas controlled by armed groups. In many areas, there are hardly any roads. Still, we find a way to reach the people that need our help… But our main challenge is the lack of resources,” said Ann Encontre, UNHCR’s Regional Representative and Regional Refugee Coordinator for the Congolese Situation based in DRC’s capital, Kinshasa. 

Only one in every eleven of the most vulnerable families in DRC currently gets shelter assistance, according to an analysis covering the first nine months of this year. Those living in makeshift shelters or staying with host families in overcrowded conditions are forced to fend for themselves.

Original source: UNHCR
Published on 9 October 2018