The United Nations has raised $528 million in pledges from donors after holding an aid conference to help deal with the humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The aid conference held on Friday in Geneva was however boycotted by the DRC.
UN humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock told reporters in Geneva that “I am pleased with the progress”, with about 100 delegations, including from 54 UN member countries, taking part in Friday’s conference.
The United Nation was hoping to raise $1.7bn to deal with a crisis it calls catastrophic, something that has infuriated the Central African country.
DRC has described the UN’s comments and actions as excessive and also accused aid groups and NGOs in the country of portraying a “bad image of DRC throughout the world”.
The country’s Prime Minister Jose Makila had said that “The Democratic Republic of Congo declines to participate in the Geneva conference” on April 13.
“While recognising that the country is facing an emergency situation … the activation of the top-level humanitarian emergency acts as a brake” for development and discourages investors, Makila said.
The UN has said that at least 13.1 million Congolese are in need of humanitarian aid, while 7.7 million are starving.
The situation has also been compounded by the political crisis in the country following President Joseph Kabila’s refusal to exit in power. The UN fears the worst for the country if the current humanitarian crisis isn’t resolved.
Elections are however expected to be held in December this year although there isn’t much clarity on how successful it could be.
Source: Africafeeds.com
