DR Congo: Over 130,000 people suffer from malnutrition

DR Congo: Over 130,000 people suffer from malnutrition

 Oct 23, 2015

According to UN, more than 130,000 people have been affected by malnutrition this year in Democratic Republic of Congo’s eastern parts BUNIA, Democratic Republic of Congo – More than 130,000 people have been suffering from malnutrition this year in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) eastern province of Ituri, due to the presence of numerous armed groups, UN representatives said.

“The poor state of roads and insecurity in the region do not allow for bringing humanitarian assistance to these people,” said Amadou Diallo, coordinator of United Nations humanitarian action in the DRC, on Wednesday.

During the weekly conference of the UN mission in DRC, Diallo stressed that those facing abuses from armed groups in the eastern part of the country, could not access vital basic needs such as clean water.

Diallo added that it was “inconceivable” that a region with such high potential for agro-pastoral production was hit with problems of malnutrition.

Colonel Felix Prosper Basse, military spokesman of the UN mission in the DRC, said that it was “necessary” the Congolese army resume military cooperation with peacekeepers “in order to eradicate the phenomenon of armed groups” at the same press conference.

Since 2014, Ugandan Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels and Rwandan rebels – Rwanda and Uganda are neighboring countries — have carried out multiple attacks in the eastern DRC leaving more than 450 people dead, according to Human Rights Watch.

For over 20 years, Rwandan rebels have been based in the DRC’s eastern region, where their activities have hampered local tourism while the ADF, which has been based in the eastern DRC since 1995, is comprised of several armed groups opposed to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni.

By Erol Ersoy