According to the UN Partnership Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), the current situation in the DRC is becoming one of the most serious food crisis in the world.
Eric Pordson, director of the World Food Program (WFP), says the human situation is deteriorating at a worrying pace. The families that need to maintain themselves are already fighting, they are now facing more rigorous reality.
Through IPC, hunger -related status is observed in any country or region and divided into five categories:
- In the first stage where there is no pressure on food protection
- In the second phase, when people are facing inconvenience in search of food
- In the third phase, it is the situation in the food crisis
- Fourth episode, urgent
- Fifth phase, destructive situation or famine
According to the latest evaluation of the DRC, 39 million people face emergency food insecurity (Phase 4), and 2.5 million people are in the third phase of food crisis.
East part of the turmoil
The full DRC in mineral resources has been in crisis for the past few decades, where the availability of funds for humanitarian assistance campaign was challenging.
The eastern part of the DRC, North Kivu and South Kivo has been influenced by violent conflict and local families are away from their livelihood ways and livestock.
The armed group called Rwanda-backed M3 took large cities, goma and bochbhu located in these provinces earlier this year. There is a fight with the government military forces, there is economic distress, though efforts are being made to maintain consent on the terms of the ceasefire at the regional level.
Food security experts have assumed that in December last year, an additional 2 million people have been subjected to food insecurity since the violence in the eastern part of the DRC.
Challenging situation for displays
According to a general statement of the World Food Program (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the internal displaced people are most affected by this food crisis.
It is reported that the camps built for internal displacement in North Kivu, especially in Goma, are now completely empty.
The DRC has more than 78 million displaced, most of them living with their host families in the eastern region.
The UN food program has begun its support effort in some parts of the North and South Kivu, but they immediately need further resources. At the same time, food production is being disrupted due to conflict, the limited route to reach the needy and the risk of security has affected people’s relief efforts.
The WFP has appealed to the DRC for the next six months to provide 645 lakhs for supply of food and nutrition assistance and search for long -term solutions.