The United Nations (UN) has called for global funding for 13 million people facing hellish living conditions in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) after years of factional bloodshed and lawlessness.
President Joseph Kabila’s government chose not to attend a UN pledging conference held in Geneva Monday.
Kinshasa has denied there is a humanitarian crisis and accused foreign powers of stigmatising the country and scaring away investment.
The UN is seeking 2.2 billion dollars to support about 13 million people in Congo this year, including 2.2 million children with severe acute malnutrition that makes them susceptible to death from disease.
Jean-Philippe Chauzy, head of the UN migration agency IOM in Congo described a microcosm of the dreadful plight of many ordinary Congolese, 1,000 families camped in a schoolyard that he visited in Kalemie, capital of
Tanganyika province.
“It reminded me of when I first read Dante’s ‘Inferno’, it was absolutely awful, living conditions were absolutely atrocious,” he told Reuters.
“No proper water, people defecating wherever they could, shelters made of pieces of plastic or of rags on sticks.”
Norwegian Refugee Council chief Jan Egeland said the “underfunded mega-disaster” got little international attention because Congolese migrants did not wash up on European shores and Congo’s conflicts did not involve the big powers.
Egeland said that on a visit to North Kivu province in the east of the vast Central African country in February he found most aid agencies had left because of lack of funds and growing danger from 100 militia groups in the area.
He said women and children were being exposed to the “worst sexual abuse ever”, which could be neglected no longer.
Eyeland said that he hoped the “me too” social media campaign against sexual assault and harassment was not solely a “Western thing”.
“If we mean anything with the ‘me too’ campaign we should really help those with the worst abuse. This is abuse which is beyond anything,” Egeland said.
Around 4.3 million people have been displaced amid endemic violence, including machete attacks and gang rape, aggravated by a political crisis sparked by Kabila’s refusal to step down at the end of his mandate in 2016.
UN humanitarian spokesman Jens Laerke said there had been no official word from Kabila’s government as to why it was not taking part in the pledging conference.
Congolese diplomats in Geneva were not available to comment.
Alexander de Croo, deputy prime minister of Belgium, the former colonial power in Congo, said Kinshasa’s absence was both regrettable and incomprehensible.
“To put an end to human suffering, the Congolese leaders must take this humanitarian crisis seriously,” he said.
Mark Lowcock, the top UN humanitarian official, opening the conference without mentioning Congo’s absence, said he hoped to secure $530 million in pledges by the end of the day.
He said the UN and the Kinshasa government would continue to work in close partnership and were discussing a follow-up event.(Reuters/NAN)
