Fri Nov 07 17:26:33 UTC 2025: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DRC Faces Deepening Hunger Crisis, WFP Warns of Potential Aid Suspension

Geneva – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) issued a stark warning Friday regarding a rapidly escalating hunger crisis in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). According to the WFP, the number of people facing emergency levels of hunger in the provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu, Ituri, and Tanganyika has nearly doubled since last year, with over 10 million people, or one in three, now experiencing crisis levels of hunger or worse. A staggering three million of those individuals are facing emergency levels, indicating extreme food shortages and alarmingly high rates of malnutrition, according to Cynthia Jones, country director of the WFP for the DRC.

The crisis is compounded by ongoing conflict in the region, particularly the resurgence of the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group, which has seized territory and disrupted humanitarian access. Both the M23 and Congolese forces have faced accusations of atrocities. The conflict has further crippled essential infrastructure, including the closure of airports in Goma and Bukavu.

Critically, the WFP is facing record low funding levels. While needing $350 million to meet the immediate needs of the affected population, the WFP has only received approximately $150 million this year. This shortfall, coupled with logistical challenges, could force the agency to completely halt emergency food assistance in the eastern provinces as early as February or March 2026.

Jones emphasized the urgent need for increased funding and improved access, proposing the establishment of an air bridge between Rwanda and eastern DRC to facilitate the delivery of aid, arguing it would be a safer, faster, and more effective route than transporting supplies from Kinshasa. In previous years, the WFP received up to $600 million in funding, which has been cut substantially in recent years. The agency warns of dire consequences if the funding gap is not addressed, with “people already dying of hunger.”

The WFP is appealing to international donors to urgently provide the necessary resources to avert a humanitarian catastrophe. Major cuts in US foreign aid and reductions in European overseas aid budgets have exacerbated the crisis, jeopardizing the lives and well-being of millions of vulnerable Congolese.

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