Water and food runs low in DRCongo

The humanitarian situation in Goma, capital of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), has reached alarming levels – with humanitarian needs now massive and response capacities severely strained.

The World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Thursday that food supplies are running dangerously low, as water and electricity outages exacerbate the crisis. Shelley Thakral, WFP Spokesperson said  “People are really running out of food, clean water, medical supplies and that’s a big concern so the supply chain has really been strangled at the moment if you think about land access, air access, when everything is closed down.

So our first priority is obviously for staff safety. We want to get back to our operations as soon as security allows us.”  The World Health Organization and partners conducted an assessment with the Government over the past five days. On Friday, the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, and partners visited sites for internally displaced people in the areas, located on the outskirts of Goma.

They found that water and healthcare services are still operational, but conditions remain dire. However, cholera cases have been reported and there are risks of an Mpox outbreak among displaced people. OCHA warned that without urgent action, the risk of waterborne disease outbreaks will continue to increase.