A record 28 million people in the Democratic Republic of Congo face acute hunger, driven by escalating conflict and economic instability, the UN warns. With food insecurity worsening, humanitarian agencies struggle to respond amid funding cuts.
Twenty-eight million people face acute hunger in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a record for the country, driven by an escalating conflict between the government and Rwandan-backed rebels in the east, the United Nations said on Thursday.
A longstanding humanitarian crisis in Congo has been aggravated by the conflict, with 2.5 million more people becoming acutely hungry since the most recent surge of violence in December, the U.N.'s World Food Programme (WFP) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in a joint statement.
Those facing acute hunger are classified as Phase 3 or higher in the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). Of the 28 million in Congo, 3.9 million are Phase 4, meaning they are experiencing emergency levels of hunger.
Phase 5 indicates famine. The country has a population of more than 100 million.
Fighting between the government and Rwandan-backed M23 rebels has escalated since the start of the year into eastern Congo's biggest conflict in decades and driven hundreds of thousands from their homes.
“The current situation is dire for the population, as harvests are lost, food prices soar, millions of people face acute food insecurity and are increasingly vulnerable,” said Athman Mravili, the interim FAO representative in Congo.
More than 10 million of those facing acute hunger are in eastern Congo, which has experienced near-constant insecurity since wars in the aftermath of the 1994 Rwandan genocide left millions dead and spawned dozens of militia groups.
Elsewhere in the country, inflation and the depreciation of the Congolese franc have made it difficult for many to get enough to eat, the statement said.
Cuts by the U.S. and other leading donors to their foreign aid have left humanitarian agencies struggling to respond to the impacts of conflict, natural disasters and climate change.
Ukrainian drone strikes have hit two Yandex data centres in Russia on consecutive days, disrupting digital services as Kyiv intensifies attacks on ...
The U.S. has imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Friday (9 October) escalating ...
Uzbekistan has unveiled plans to deepen economic ties with Central Asia and Azerbaijan, proposing shared artificial intelligence infrastructure, a ...
Leaders of countries from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) have agreed to hold coordinated population censuses around 2030. They took the decision at the CIS Council of Heads of State meeting in Awaza, Turkmenistan on Friday, media reported.
The Saudi-led coalition says it has carried out a series of military operations against Houthi targets in Yemen after attacks on two Saudi airports left three people dead and dozens injured.
Azerbaijan and the five Central Asian states have signed two key documents at the 8th Consultative Meeting of Heads of State in Turkmenbashi, formalising a broader framework for regional cooperation in transport, trade, energy, digitalisation and security.
It started with classrooms. Too many students, not enough teachers, deteriorating buildings and growing anxiety over what comes after high school. But within weeks, a movement that began outside French lycées had spread across the country.
Britain and Israel have reached a temporary compromise over the future of the British Consulate General in East Jerusalem, easing a diplomatic dispute that had threatened to further strain relations between the two countries.
Ukrainian drone strikes have hit two Yandex data centres in Russia on consecutive days, disrupting digital services as Kyiv intensifies attacks on Russia's digital infrastructure.
The U.S. has imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Friday (9 October) escalating tensions with European allies and potentially targeting companies that provide services to the tribunal. The move came hours after former ICC judge Navi Pillay won the Nobel Peace Prize.
Azerbaijan has made history at the 2026 World Judo Championships in Baku, claiming a record five medals and climbing to second place in the standings behind Japan as more than 620 athletes from over 90 countries compete in the Azerbaijani capital.
Student protests are gaining momentum across France over worsening school conditions, as online calls for nationwide demonstrations on 17 October raise the prospect of wider unrest.
Riot police used water cannon and tear gas to disperse protesters in Brussels on Friday, 9 October, as students joined workers in a nationwide strike against government austerity measures and spending cuts.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment