Democratic Republic of the Congo
Located in Central Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is the continent’s second largest country, and the largest in sub-Saharan Africa. Despite being abundant in water, minerals and other natural resources, it is one of the world’s poorest and least developed nations. The extreme poverty that affects more than half the population is the legacy of years of violence, upheaval and instability.
The DRC’s recent history has been marred by the plundering of resources and by violence. Between 1998 and 2007, conflict claimed the lives of an estimated 5.4 million people, mainly through starvation and preventable or treatable disease. What became known as the Second Congo War ended in 2002. However local conflicts involving numerous armed groups, continue in the eastern provinces (North and South Kivu, Haut Uele, Ituri) and in the south-east provinces of Katanga and Tanganyika.
What WFP is doing in Congo DR
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Food and recovery assistance
WFP supports more than 1.6 million people, including vulnerable IDPs, conflict-affected host communities and 134,000 refugees from South Sudan, Central African Republic, Burundi and Rwanda. Where possible, WFP distributes cash and vouchers rather than food. This boosts local economies and encourages post-conflict recovery and dietary diversification. The early recovery of returnees is supported through Food for Work and Food for Assets programmes.
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Purchase for Progress
Since 2010 WFP has worked to enhance smallholder farmers’ capacity to produce and trade through a Purchase for Progress (P4P) programme run with FAO. P4P includes trainings on agricultural techniques and organization, literacy to promote women’s role in the communities, construction and rehabilitation of infrastructure. It also enables farmers to connect with markets and trade collectively. In 2016 P4P expanded to North Kivu province.
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School meals
WFP’s Emergency School Feeding programme provides meals in more than 550 schools often located near IDP sites in North and South Kivu, Katanga, Tanganyika, Equateur and Ituri. The meals improve the nutrition of vulnerable students and increase school attendance, thereby lessening the risk for young people to be recruited by armed groups.
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Nutrition
In areas in which acute malnutrition affects more than 10 percent of the population, WFP provides supplemental nutritional support to malnourished children under 5, and pregnant and breastfeeding women. The objective is to reduce maternal and infant mortality and to prevent malnutrition-related developmental disorders.
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Emergency roads rehabilitation
Poor road infrastructure and complete lack of maintenance impede both humanitarian assistance and local agricultural economies, even more so during rainy seasons. Road rehabilitation is critical to ensure humanitarian access to vulnerable people, and to allow smallholder farmers to transport their goods to the local markets.
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Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS)
The United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS), has been supporting the humanitarian response in the DRC since 2008, providing aid workers, donors and diplomatic missions with safe, flexible, efficient, and cost-effective air transportation. It also enables to reach remote and challenging locations, as in Ituri and Haut Uele provinces where two UNHAS planes help support humanitarian assistance to South Sudanese refugees.
In focus
بيانات صحفية عن الكونغو
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Achieving Zero Hunger is the work of many. Our work in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is made possible by the support and collaboration of our partners and donors, including:اتصل بنا
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