UNITED NATIONS REACHES INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS BY AIR IN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

UNITED NATIONS REACHES INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS

BY AIR IN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

NEW YORK, 19 August (OCHA) – Yesterday, representatives of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC), and their partners arrived in the high plains of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo to deliver 90 tons of food and basic supplies to some 1,200 internally displaced families.  The aid is being flown in by helicopter, since the only way to reach this remote area is by air.

The families fled their homes near the town of Bukavu because of threats from armed groups last month, and are currently stranded in the towns of Numbi and Shanje.  Most of them have been seeking refuge in school buildings.  Because they fled their homes with nothing, many have been sleeping on the ground without blankets and seriously lack sufficient clothing and cooking supplies.

Because of the influx of internally displaced persons in the area, the population of Shanje has increased by 50 per cent and that of Numbi by 25 per cent.  The result has been a severe threat to an already precarious food security situation, with the host communities’ food stocks already having been entirely consumed.

After the aid is airlifted into the area, WFP trucks will transport it from MONUC’s heliport to food depots.  Various non-governmental organizations will help with the off-loading and delivery.  In addition to basic supplies, the internally displaced persons will receive rations of flour, oil, beans and salt.

Non-governmental organizations are also helping with medical assistance.  The situation requires such support since a growing number of consultations at Shanje’s health centre has been coupled with the absence of sufficient medicines.  Numerous cases of gastro-enteritis and malaria have also been reported.

For further information, please call: Stephanie Bunker, OCHA New York, tel.: 917 367 5126, mobile: 917 892 1679; Elizabeth Byrs, OCHA Geneva, tel.: 41 22 917 2653, mobile: 41(0) 79 473 4570.

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