400 000 kids at risk in the DRC

Violence raging in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) central Kasai region has left about 400 000 children at risk of severe acute malnutrition, the UN children’s fund Unicef has warned.

Insecurity due to fighting between militias and security forces has hampered farming and made food supplies dwindle.

Displacement has meanwhile forced families to live in conditions with inadequate hygiene or sanitation.

Across the five provinces of Greater Kasai, critical health infrastructure is no longer operational due to the conflict, Unicef said.

In Central Kasai province alone, more than one-third of health centres have been forced to close following looting, due to security concerns for staff or lack of medical supplies. – dpa