Photo: Anthony Morland/IRIN Clashes prompted almost the entire population in Dongo to flee in October 2009 (file photo)
NAIROBI, 9 July 2010 (IRIN) - Millions of people in parts of the western Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are facing a "food and livelihood crisis" brought on by structural causes such as the dependence on the mining sector and a poor road and livelihoods infrastructure, say officials.
Around 1.3 million households in 58 territories are affected, according to an analysis by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) between March and May. Of the affected, at least 73 percent are in the regions of Kasai, western Bandundu and south of Equateur, said a recent DRC Humanitarian Action Weekly Bulletin.
"While the east is vulnerable due to conflict the west is affected by structural and development problems," Maurizio Giuliano, the advocacy and public information manager at the UN Office for the Coordination Humanitarian Affairs in the DRC, told IRIN.
"Relevant humanitarian support in pockets of need is required, but at the same time much more money should be allocated towards development in the long-term in the west," Giuliano added. "But in the short term we have to provide humanitarian support for malnutrition; lives have to be saved... The malnourished children who may die, parents who may no longer be able to work... This would lead to a vicious circle where people are not in an ideal position to contribute to the development of their own area."
The isolation of some of the areas due to poor roads and transport coupled with high food prices and weak commercial and financial activities exacerbated the situation, he said.
In Dongo, in Equateur's South-Ubangi District people have lost a major part of their harvests, equipment and livestock due to a conflict over resources. What little infrastructure remains, such as schools, health centres and the market, were partly destroyed by looters, according to a 6 July International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) statement.
Food security there has been threatened by the abandonment of agriculture and fishing activities due to looting and fear of attacks. Dongo has been affected by inter-communal clashes over livelihoods since late 2009, with tens of thousands being displaced.
According to Giuliano, necessary humanitarian actions may include targeted food distributions to ensure that the most vulnerable households have 3-6 months of food. However, crucially, the delivery of seeds and agricultural tools is required in the west, so that development may eventually succeed in the longer term and the trend may be reversed, he said.
FAO provided seeds and agricultural tools to around 3,150 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Bokonzi and Makengo sites in South-Ubangi District in the Province of Equateur, said the bulletin. In Katanga Province the World Food Programme through partners is providing food for 2,000 moderately malnourished children with their families in the Kalemie and Nyemba health zones. The ICRC is also providing 2,000 fishermen with fishing equipment.
Food distributions in east
This is unlike the response in the east where there are general food distributions due to conflict. "A lot of people are not cultivating in these conflict situations, as they are uprooted and re-displaced routinely - they are in flight mode," he said.
Conflict and attacks by various armed groups in eastern DRC have led to the internal displacement of about 1.8 million people. The Ugandan rebel Lord's Resistance Army alone is the cause of the current displacement of at least 200,000 people in northeastern DRC.
Campaign group Global witness on 7 July called for transparency reforms in DRC's mining and oil sectors if the country is to benefit from a 1 July World Bank and International Monetary Fund decision to forgive US$12.3 billion of the country's debt. The DRC qualified for debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Debt Initiative and Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative.
"The country has vast natural resource wealth - timber, minerals and oil - but so far Congolese people have not benefited because of widespread corruption and mismanagement over decades," said Global Witness.
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