The European Commission has announced aid of 200,000 Euros to help vulnerable families affected by floods and landslides in the province of South Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This sum will be earmarked for the Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF) of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). These funds will enable the DRC Red Cross Society to directly provide humanitarian assistance to 18,000 people affected by the floods, including providing water, hygiene and health services and shelter.
The situation is alarming. Around 50,000 people have been affected and need immediate humanitarian assistance. Vulnerabilities are enormous, including loss of household items and damage to water sources, latrines and roads. The affected area had already hosted more than 100,000 people displaced from North Kivu due to the violence there, while cholera is endemic in the region.
The torrential rains that hit the localities of Bushushu, Nyamukubi, Luzira and Chabondo caused more than 400 deaths, while thousands of people are still missing and considerable loss of livelihoods, infrastructure and materials were recorded. The homes of over 3,000 people were completely destroyed.
The government has decreed this part of the country as a disaster area, thus allowing a great mobilization of resources and substantial support to the populations affected by this situation. The IFRC has set up water and hygiene actions which will also target the communities of Bushushu and Nyamukubi.
This aid from the European Commission will therefore be invaluable in helping populations in need. But it is also important to remember that environmental problems, such as flooding, are often linked to political and economic issues, including logging, mining and corruption. It is therefore crucial to deal with these problems in a comprehensive way to protect the population from these disasters in the future.