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FAO and WFP step up efforts to alleviate hunger in DR Congo's Kasai region

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Belgian funding channelled through the UN bodies will benefit tens of thousands at risk in the Democratic Republic of Congo

KINSHASA – Against a backdrop of intense human suffering, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) are joining forces to mitigate some of the effects of conflict in Greater Kasai. The two United Nations agencies will be using US$10 million in Belgian government funding to improve access to food for more than 100,000 people. Some 18,000 households – whether displaced, returnee or host families – stand to benefit.

"Thanks to this significant contribution, we are able to ramp up our efforts and work closely together to prevent people, including young children, from dying of hunger and malnutrition," said FAO Representative ad interim Alexis Bonte.

“These interventions will not only protect vulnerable people, but help revive agricultural production and boost social cohesion in communities affected by the crisis," added Claude Jibidar, WFP’s Country Representative in DRC.

Under the project, WFP will distribute fortified maize meal, legumes, fortified vegetable oil and iodized salt – as well as cash. Children aged 6 to 59 months, and pregnant and breastfeeding women, will be treated for three months with special nutritious supplements. For its part, FAO will supply vegetable-growing kits – hoe, rake, spade, watering can, and vegetable and fruit seeds – that will allow each family to eat for two months and sell what they don’t eat.

There will be training in raising guinea pigs as a source of protein; and in processing and marketing bamboo to use as firewood, kitchen utensils, baskets, canoes, fishing equipment and fences. Vegetable gardens near health centres and women's associations will meanwhile provide malnourished children, and pregnant and nursing women, with micronutrients such as iron and zinc.

The joint initiative will be rolled out in partnership with the DRC Ministry of Agriculture and local NGOs. But welcome as it is, it cannot meet anything like the full extent of humanitarian needs.

The conflict in Kasai, formerly a maize-producing region, has forced a million people out of their homes and off their land. Some 3.2 million are now severely hungry. Child malnutrition is widespread.

The tragedy experienced by the Congolese people demands greater solidarity. FAO and WFP are advocating for significantly expanded funding to address harrowing levels of need.

Above all, the two agencies are calling for a lasting peace that allows everyone to grow their own food, rebuild their livelihoods and secure a more prosperous future.

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WFP is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide by distributing food assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve their nutritional status and build resilience. Each year, WFP provides assistance to some 80 million people in nearly 80 countries.

FAO's mandate is to improve nutrition levels, agricultural productivity, the quality of life of rural people and to help eliminate hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition.

To find out about WFP operations in the DRC, please visit the PAM RDC Facebook page or visit http://www.wfp.org/countries/congo-democratic-republic.

For FAO projects in the DRC, please visit the FAO DRC website: http://www.fao.org/republique-democratique-congo/

For more information please contact:

WFP
Claude Kalinga, Communication Officer, claude.kalinga@wfp.org, +243 81 700 6714
Elodie Jégo, External Relations Officer, elodie.jego@wfp.org, +243 81 700 6844

FAO
Fallon Bwatu, Communication and Advocacy Officer, fallon.bwatumbuyi@fao.org, +243 82 415 82 53
Xavier Farhay, Communication Officer, xavier.farhay@fao.org, +243 82 415 8265