R10bn sought to ease DRC refugee crisis

KINSHASA: THE refugee agency has appealed for $621 million (R9.9 billion) to assist refugees who have fled violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC.

Nearly one million refugees are seeking safety in neighbouring countries, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said, announcing the plan to seek funding for 66 organisations that provide protection and humanitarian assistance to the migrants and their host nations.

It said that the situation in the DRC remained one of Africa’s most complex and long-standing humanitarian crises.

UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch said the situation in the eastern part of the country was particularly serious as the humanitarian and security situation there continued to worsen.

“Tens of thousands of new refugees were fleeing for their lives across borders to escape armed conflict and inter-communal violence. Since the beginning of 2019, we have seen around 100 000 refugees seeking refuge in the neighbouring countries.

The UN agency reported that most have gone to Uganda, which is now sheltering nearly 400 000 of the refugees.

Hundreds of thousands of others have fled to Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia, Angola and the Republic of Congo.

Baloch told the Voice of America radio news that the appeal also aimed to assist the host countries, which he said struggle to support themselves, as well as the thousands of refugees.

“We have a situation where camps are overstretched in terms of their capacity.

“We need to do more in terms of providing refugees with shelter, food, health and also many of these refugees are youngsters in terms of being able to attend school.

“Education also suffers as well,” Baloch said.