Geneva: The number of people facing emergency levels of hunger in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has nearly doubled since last year, the United Nations said Friday. The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) expressed concerns about a “deepening hunger crisis” in the region, noting significant challenges in reaching those affected due to severe funding shortages and access difficulties.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, one in three people in the DRC’s eastern provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu, Ituri, and Tanganyika are experiencing crisis levels of hunger or worse, affecting over 10 million individuals. Cynthia Jones, the WFP’s DR Congo country director, highlighted that three million of these people are enduring emergency levels of hunger, indicating extreme gaps in food consumption and high malnutrition rates.
Jones noted that the number of individuals facing emergency hunger levels has surged, almost doubling since the previous year. “People are already dying of hunger,” she stated at a media briefing in Geneva.
The situation has been exacerbated by the resurgence of the M23 militia, which, with Rwanda’s assistance, has taken control of significant parts of eastern DRC since 2021. This development has worsened the humanitarian crisis and prolonged the conflict in the region, spanning over three decades. The militia’s rapid offensive led to the capture of key eastern cities like Goma and Bukavu, where it established a parallel administration and seized control of nearby mines.
Jones emphasized the urgent need for $349 million to sustain the delivery of emergency food and nutrition assistance over the next six months. Without this funding, the WFP faces “a complete halt of all emergency food assistance in the eastern provinces” from February or March 2026.
Furthermore, Jones mentioned the closure of the two airports in the east, Goma and Bukavu, for several months. The WFP advocates for establishing an air bridge between neighboring Rwanda and eastern DRC, suggesting it would provide a safer, faster, and more effective route than from Kinshasa, located on the opposite side of the nation.