(Adnkronos) – Hundreds of thousands of people in Goma are at risk of falling into the spiral of hunger due to rising food prices and displacement in the North Kivu region. ActionAid is raising the alarm as the cost of essential products like flour and oil has more than doubled, putting basic food out of reach for thousands of people. In a statement, the ActionAid team in Goma reported food price increases of up to 160 percent and warned that families are being forced to cut meals for both adults and children.
More than 90% of the food that arrives in Goma comes from surrounding regions such as Masisi, Rutshuru, Lubero, Beni and Nyiragongo. Armed clashes have blocked most roads in these regions, leading to severe shortages and price hikes. In Goma, hundreds of thousands of displaced people depend on humanitarian aid, but the escalation of violence has forced most organizations to suspend operations, leaving families without food, water and other essential goods. ActionAid denounces how the worsening hunger could have catastrophic consequences for women and girls, especially those in displacement camps with low or no income, who are most at risk of exploitation and may be forced into prostitution to survive.
“Everything has become expensive,” said one of ActionAid’s community volunteers in Goma. “During the fighting, prices doubled. People can’t go to work because of the conflict and they don’t earn anything. Families who were living on $5 a day are now surviving on $2. This means that if they used to eat three times a day, now they can only eat once,” he added.
About a quarter of the population of the Democratic Republic of Congo – 25.5 million people – are facing really critical levels of food deprivation. This includes 3.3 million people who are one step away from famine. Yakubu Mohammed Saani, ActionAid’s country director in the Democratic Republic of Congo, said “soaring prices are a recipe for disaster. We urgently need to get aid in and we need to do it fast. But right now, all aid is blocked. We are calling on all parties to the conflict to allow safe and unhindered access to humanitarian organizations, so that we can provide life-saving assistance – food, medicine and shelter – to those in need. The international community must also act urgently to increase its support to the millions of people in need in the Democratic Republic of Congo”.
