We regularly recommend reports and articles to help you better understand what is at stake in Congo. Today we selected an article by IRIN on the Congo crisis: How did we get here? A look on how a political crisis evolved to a “Level 3” humanitarian emergency.
The article starts by stating that The scale of the humanitarian crisis requires an urgent international response – but the world is yet to step up to the challenge. The numbers speak for themselves:
The number of people who do not have enough food to eat has surged by 30 percent this year to 7.7 million. The number of children suffering severe acute malnutrition stands at 1.9 million, exceeding those of Yemen, Somalia, South Sudan and Nigeria combined.
Congo is the country worst affected by conflict displacement – for the second year running. An average of 5,500 people flee their homes every day, bringing the total number of displaced to over four million.
The UN sounded the alarm by declaring the country a Level 3 emergency – the worst-of-the-worst of humanitarian crises. But aid has been extremely slow to arrive for the 13 million people in need. Less than half of the $812 million appeal for 2017 is currently funded.
This lengthy article is very well documented, divided in several chapters:
Inside the Congolese army’s campaign of rape and looting in South Kivu
Rebellion fears grow in eastern Congo
What one of the deadliest ever attacks on UN peacekeepers means for Congo
UN base attack ramps up security fears for vulnerable civilians in eastern Congo
Mass graves, missing bodies, and mysticism: Inside Congo’s spiralling Kasai conflict
Kabila sits tight as Congo crumbles
You can read this in-depth report on this page.
