KINSHASA, 06 October 2021, (TON): The senior UN official in the country told the Security Council that violence and access constraint in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continue to hamper humanitarian operations in a context where one in three people need assistance.”

For Bintou Keita, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of the UN Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO), food insecurity and cyclical epidemics are major concerns.

Attacks on schools and hospitals have also exacerbated humanitarian challenges in several parts of the east, particularly Ituri.

With over 5 million internally displaced people, the country has the highest number of internally displaced people on the African continent. More than 26 million Congolese also suffer from food insecurity, about 29 percent of the population.

Addressing the Council Members, Ms. Keita urged them to increase their contributions to the 2021 Humanitarian Response Plan, that asks for $1.98 billion. To date, just over a quarter of the plan is funded.

The Special Representative highlighted two main challenges “the security and protection of civilians in the east, and the process of democratic consolidation in DRC.”

On the security front, she informed that, since the declaration of a state of siege by the Government, in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri, MONUSCO has redoubled its efforts to support the Congolese authorities.