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200 tonnes of humanitarian aid to assist the people of the Kasaï region

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DR Congo
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UNICEF
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posted on 22 SEPTEMBER 2017 by YVES WILLEMOT

EMERGENCIES – The crisis in the Kasaï is having a devastating effect on children. The clashes which have persisted over several months between the militias and security forces have led to the displacement of thousands of families.

200 tonnes of humanitarian aid

The United States government has given 200 tonnes of humanitarian aid to UNICEF in order to assist the people of the Kasaï region in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Jennifer Haskell, the Chargé d’affaires for the United States embassy in Kinshasa, officially presented the supplies to Dr Tajudeen Oyewale, interim UNICEF representative in the DRC.

This second batch of supplies includes 60,000 blankets, 20,000 cooking utensils, more than 45,000 containers for drinking water, more than 1.4 million water purification tablets, two generators and buckets of water. UNICEF will ensure that these supplies are distributed amongst the people and health centres affected by the crisis in the Kasaï region. A first batch of around 106 tonnes of humanitarian supplies for the Kasaï region had already been provided on 29 August.

With this second batch, a total of more than 300 tonnes of humanitarian aid supplies will have been made available to displaced people, thanks to financing from USAID. UNICEF will use these essential supplies and emergency equipment within the framework of its Rapid Response to Movements of Population (RRMP) programme, which aims to assist the communities affected by violence in the Kasaï region. The provisions from USAID will assist 20,000 families affected by the crisis in the Kasaï.

Children, first victimes of the crisis

The crisis in the Kasaï is having a devastating effect on children. The clashes which have persisted over several months between the militias and security forces have led to the displacement of thousands of families, including 850,000 children, who do not have access to essential services such as education and healthcare. UNICEF has been active in the region for over twenty years and has been one of the most significant contributors to the humanitarian response being implemented in the Kasaï region.

The United States provides humanitarian aid in the DRC through different humanitarian agencies. Over the last five years, the American government has provided more than 800 million USD in humanitarian aid to the DRC.

Yves Willemot

Yves Willemot est le chef de l’Équipe InfoCom de l’UNICEF RDC. Plus que tout, ce qui est important pour lui c'est d'être "tous ensemble pour les enfants".

Yves Willemot is Head of the UNICEF DRC InfoCom Team. More than anything, he believes that the most important is to "be together for the children".