The European Union (EU) has announced that it is set to allocate around €70 million of new humanitarian aid to the Democratic Republic of Congo and the rest of the Great Lakes region.
The EU Commission announced in a press released on Friday, 15 March 2024, that more than 90%, or 63.75 million euros, of the allocation will channeled to the DRC for humanitarian projects including €4.75 million for disaster risk reduction.
This would be in additional aid to DR Congo by the EU that has already committed itself in the field with an allocation of €1.7 million in response to the floods experienced in the country at the start of the year.
Meanwhile, the new This EU funding is also expected support projects to combat gender-based violence and support education in emergencies.
“The humanitarian situation in the Great Lakes region is desperate and could deteriorate further in 2024, as the conflict intensifies and the root causes of the violence persist. We have already seen a significant deterioration in the security situation in eastern DRC, with devastating effects on civilians. Gender-based violence and violations of international humanitarian law are particularly widespread in the region,” said Janez Lenarčič, EU Commissioner for Crisis Management.
The new EU funding looks to come as a great relief to the Congolese population in the east where the security situation has deteriorated in recent days as the fighters attacks continue to expand into the territory of Rutshuru, in North Kivu, where several localities have fallen under the control of the rebels leading to the displacement of thousands.
