DR Congo: Country facing crisis levels of hunger amid 'massive displacement'
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00:00Now staying with DR Congo, the east of the country has been beset by conflict for decades,
00:05but for the last two years clashes between the army and M23 militants have ramped up the civilian
00:12fallout from the violence. Over a million people have been displaced this year alone
00:17and those living in camps around Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, can't even count
00:22on food. About a quarter of the country's population, about 23.4 million people,
00:27are facing crisis levels of hunger. Over five million are on the brink of famine.
00:33Florian Monnery is the country director for Action Against Hunger in DR Congo. Florian,
00:39thanks so much for coming in to talk about some of the work that you're doing out there.
00:44As I just mentioned, conflict in eastern DR Congo is nothing new. Are your concerns at the moment
00:52the result of the cumulative effect of all those years of conflict, decades of conflict,
00:58or is there something different about the nature of the crisis as you're seeing it now?
01:03Yes, in DR Congo today it's not business as usual. People say for decades this has been beset by
01:09conflict, but in practice this conflict has ramped up with heavy artillery use on IDP camps,
01:16with massive displacement on a scale that has not been seen in the last 20 years in the country,
01:21with levels of malnutrition that have been increasing over the past year and a half
01:26to levels where today we have in Action Against Hunger mobile clinics in Goma, for example,
01:34seen the level of people that come to fetch assistance for malnutrition raised by four
01:39within the last six months. These are numbers of treatments we do. We provided as much treatment
01:46this year for the first six months as we did for the full last year for the entire country,
01:52and the number we have today is only for Goma. The needs of the population are growing and despite
02:00very generous donors there is the impossibility to cover the basic needs of a million people
02:05displaced over three months. When it comes to the needs, I'm imagining tackling or making a
02:11difference to huge communities or displaced populations who are struggling to get enough
02:18to eat goes beyond just providing a meal. So what are your priorities and what do you concentrate
02:24on when you're trying to help? Priorities is first to be there for the population, be there seven
02:29days a week so that they're sure they can get assistance, whatever assistance they can get,
02:34whether it is access to water, whether it is access to sanitation, access to nutrition, access to health
02:40for children, and especially access to mental health and psychosocial support. I don't want to
02:46leave you without asking, you know, what can be done? The country is still battling M23 militants.
02:53What can change in these still very turbulent conditions? Humanitarian action can be done for
02:59years had it been, but today the only solution is not a humanitarian solution, it is cessation of
03:05hostilities, immediate cessation of hostilities, as well as ways to find that all the parties to
03:10the conflict and their allies sit and discuss for lasting peace and the possible return of all IDPs.
03:18This is the only viable solution for Congolese population to get out of the very difficult
03:25crisis they're in right now.