UK Announces £39m Aid For Humanitarian Crisis In DRC

Britain is to deliver an additional £39m to meet urgent humanitarian needs in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander has announced today.

The commitment is to include £35m for the DRC Pooled Fund component of the UN Humanitarian Action Plan 2009 and a further £4m funding for 2009 for the work of the International Committee of the Red Cross in the DRC.

In addition, the UK will provide a further £25m support for rural water and sanitation via UNICEF's Healthy Village Programme, providing access to clean water and sanitation for 3.7m Congolese.

Mr Alexander announced the funding during a two-day visit to Kinshasa and North Kivu in the DRC, where he met with individuals who have been displaced by the fighting in the east of the country, including children who have lost their parents, and also visited the host communities and families that have opened their doors to provide them with food, shelter and support.

The International Development Secretary said: "There is a desperate need for humanitarian help in Eastern DRC. The UN estimates that at least 1.4 million people have been forced to flee their homes to escape violence.

"Huge numbers of refugees now face appalling hardship. Parents have been split from their children and compelled to live many miles from home, often with no means of support."

He added: "Hundreds of thousands are cold, hungry and at risk of disease. The UK - indeed the whole international community - has a moral and humanitarian duty to continue to provide help."

Mr Alexander also visited a school in Kinshasa to see some of the challenges facing the education sector in DRC.

The UK has a major programme of support to education in DRC which will help reduce primary school fees and get at least 1 million extra Congolese children into school.

(JM/KMcA)