Insecurity in Congo Causes Concern over Access to Emergency Rations

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today warned that
though many of the tens of thousands of people displaced by fighting in
eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in recent days have now received
emergency rations, there are serious concerns for those who remain beyond
its reach due to insecurity.

"We are working round the clock to reach people who have fled with
virtually nothing," said WFP DRC Country Director Charles Vincent. "Across
the East, the situation is getting worse every day for innocent civilians
caught up in this conflict. There are too many we are currently unable to
reach."

The most recent violence in North Kivu Province has forced many thousands
to flee in fear from their villages in search of safety. Over 50,000 have
gathered around the village of Mugunga, 10 kilometres west of the
provincial capital Goma, after escaping fighting in Masisi district.

By Thursday evening, WFP had distributed a 10-day ration of maize flour,
peas, oil and salt to more than 35,000 people at Mugunga. The distributions
continue as long as daylight allows.

However, poor security has severely limited access beyond Mugunga to the
worst-affected areas of Masisi, where at least 7,000 more people are
believed to be living in the bush in urgent need of food and other
assistance. On Tuesday, after days of trying, WFP managed to deliver
emergency supplies to Masisi town for malnourished children and civilians
injured in the fighting.

An additional 30,000 people are believed to have fled Masisi into South
Kivu, where WFP is working through its partners to reach them with urgent
food assistance. However, access to the vast majority of displaced people
in the province remains restricted by insecurity. In most cases, WFP
requires armed escorts from the UN mission in DRC (MONUC) to reach them.

Preliminary reports from outlying areas of North Kivu, where large numbers
of people are known to be displaced, indicate an alarming increase in rates
of acute malnutrition. It is reaching close to 19 percent in some cases -
well past the emergency threshold. The situation among the displaced in
South Kivu Province is little better, with rates climbing to 17 percent.

People's health and immune systems are being eroded by constant
displacement and being forced to sleep out in the bush to avoid attacks,
making children even more vulnerable to malnutrition. The agricultural
economy that the vast majority depends on has been all but destroyed in
many areas.

"We are dealing with a humanitarian emergency that could spiral out of
control unless we get proper access to the worst-affected areas," said
Vincent.

The latest population movements bring the total number of people displaced
in the Kivus close to one million. Two-thirds are in North Kivu, where
300,000 have fled their homes since November last year alone.

WFP urgently requires an additional US$12 million for immediate regional
purchase of food and further borrowings from neighbouring WFP operations in
order to provide full rations to the needy, mostly in the East, until the
end of the year.

The need for food assistance in DRC, predominantly in the East, has tripled
in the past year and these most recent displacements put an ever greater
strain on WFP resources. Rations distributed to the longer-term displaced
have been halved in order to eke out stocks. Even after using recent
contributions to organize food loans from neighbouring WFP offices in the
region to cover the increased needs, the DRC operation still faces breaks
in food supplies.