DR Congo: USAID pause endangers humanitarian aid
Despite the escalation of the conflict in Eastern DR Congo, funds collected for humanitarian aid in the country are set to be lower this year, partly due to the interruption of American aid, according to RFI on February 28th.
As the country’s capital Kinshassa was hosting the annual forum for humanitarian aid, the presented figure of $2.54m remains a distant hope for fundraiser after Trump’s new administration froze USAID funds, which accounted for 70% of last year’s $1.3m budget.
This comes at the worst time, as the recent invasion of eastern DR Congo by Rwanda-backed M23 militia has put yet more constrain on humanitarian activity.
Airports and banks shutdowns in Goma and Bukavu make aid transit virtually impossible in the region as previous aid supplies were pillaged in the recent capture of the two cities by the rebel militia.
Coordinator of the forum of NGOs in DRC Luc lamprière warns of the multiplication of crisis in Congo.
“We are confronted with multiple crisis at the same time. Aid workers face permanent dilemmas: how to take care of the injured when hospitals are hit with shortages? How to prevent a sanitary disaster when cholera, measles and mpox are progressing? How to protect gender-based violence victims and to help displaced populations?”
Since USAID interruption was announced, other cuts have followed, regrets Swedish Ambassador in DRC Joakim Vaverka.
“We find ourselves in a very serious situation. At the same time, it is a fairly forgotten conflict: with more attention on this conflict, it could be an opportunity for donors to increase their engagement”.
Furthermore, because the preparation of the aid plan was made prior to the start of the conflict, it is likely to be under-calculated, considering the important displacement of population currently taking place.
The conflict with M23 is the latest of a series of clashes that oppose the DRC government with local groups vying for the control of its mineral-rich regions – albeit its causes also lay in the Rwandan civil war.
For UN Coordinator of Aid in DRC, the priority should not be aid, but a conflict resolution involving a durable peace-process between the parties.
RFI, Maghrebi.
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