UN Humanitarian Office to provide aid to 9.6 million people amid crisis in DR Congo

New York [US], February 8 (ANI/Sputnik): Up to 9.6 million vulnerable people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) will receive urgent assistance as part of the 2021 humanitarian response plan for the country, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the DRC said.
The DRC has long been facing a deep humanitarian crisis triggered by an ongoing armed conflict and violence on one hand, and epidemics and natural disasters, on the other. According to the OCHA, the number of those who need assistance and protection increased from 15.6 million in early 2020 to 19.6 this year.
"The 2021 Humanitarian Response Plan for the Democratic Republic of Congo will provide urgent assistance to 9.6 million vulnerable people. A budget of US$1.98 billion will be required to meet these needs," the UN agency said in a recent press release published on Monday.
According to the OCHA, the DRC currently hosts 5.2 million displaced persons -- the second largest number of internally displaced people in the world -- and 527,000 refugees from neighboring countries, while food insecurity in the country has reached the highest level ever recorded.
In a bid to prevent the crisis from further deteriorating, the agency developed the Humanitarian Response Plan for 2021, a unified appeal representing the activities of more than 400 operational partners, including national and international NGOs, as well as UN agencies involved in the humanitarian response in the DRC. (ANI/Sputnik)