A woman in Goma is evacuated with her children. DR Congo crisis: UN emergency relief coordinator pledges $17 million to save lives Humanitarian aid
Aid workers are at risk and their ability to deliver aid to the population is hampered amid violence and looting of food warehouses in the newly captured city of Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo by the M23 armed group, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Thursday.
Aid hampered
Thousands of people have suffered shrapnel and gunshot wounds as aid workers provide aid where possible.
Water and electricity have been cut off in Goma since January 26. The OCHA calls for the resumption of provision of public services to the population, as well as the protection of humanitarian warehouses from looting and the facilitation of the evacuation of the wounded.
OCHA also said the airport in Goma remains closed, meaning humanitarian flows and rotations of humanitarian personnel have been suspended.
“We once again call on all parties to respect international humanitarian law and end violence against civilians,” OCHA said.
$17 million to save lives
UN Emergency Relief Coordinator and Head of the UN Office Tom Fletcher has allocated funds to support the people of Goma.
“I have allocated $17 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund to help save lives,” Fletcher wrote on his page on platform X.
WFP ready to resume food aid deliveries
Meanwhile, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) reports that Goma is running out of food and drinking water. The next 24 hours could be critical to helping the population.
“I was in Goma until last Friday morning. I left on one of the last planes before the airport closed. Even then, it was already chaos. “The humanitarian situation is deteriorating by the hour,” said Cynthia Jones, WFP country director in the DRC.
WFP stands ready to resume food aid delivery as soon as security conditions allow.