ROME : In a statement, the UN food agency said it is intensifying life-saving assistance to more than 210,000 people affected by ongoing violence, but cautioned that needs are rising far faster than available resources. Communities caught in the conflict are facing extreme hardship, with limited access to safe drinking water, healthcare and livelihoods.
The programme noted that widespread insecurity has forced many families to flee their homes, with some crossing into neighbouring countries in search of food and shelter. It warned that the hunger crisis will worsen without urgent action, stressing that not only displaced people are in desperate need, but also the host families sheltering them.
“These families are already living in critical levels of food insecurity, sharing what little food they have left with their displaced neighbours, pushing them all towards utter despair,” the agency said.
The World Food Programme emphasised that without immediate financial support, it will be unable to respond effectively to a crisis that is rapidly deepening. Its operations are already constrained by severe funding shortfalls, at a time when humanitarian needs are surging across the region.
To sustain its programmes over the next six months, the agency said it urgently requires US$350 million in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, alongside US$39 million in Burundi and US$17 million in Rwanda.
The UN food agency has issued a dire warning about the escalating hunger crisis in Congo, where over 210,000 people are in urgent need of aid due to ongoing violence. With resources dwindling, the situation is exacerbated by widespread insecurity, forcing families to flee and share scarce resources, pushing communities towards a potential catastrophe.