The United States announced today that it will provide nearly $414 million in humanitarian aid to the Democratic Republic of Congo, where about a quarter of its nearly 100 million people are in need of support, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA .
The U.S. representative to the U.N.'s food and agriculture agencies, Jeffrey Prescott, said a significant portion of the funds will go to the world organization's agencies and humanitarian groups that provide emergency food aid, health care, shelter, drinking water, sanitation and funds for hygiene.
„This funding also includes direct support with agricultural goods from American farmers,” said Prescott, who will officially announce the aid today in Kinshasa. Thus, the total US aid to the African country since October will reach 838 million dollars.
The UN's $2.6 billion aid appeal for DR Congo this year is only a third funded, and the World Health Organization warned last month that more than one million children in the country are at risk of acute malnutrition.
Prescott said he hopes the US funding will encourage other countries to also help DR Congo.
The United States will also provide $10 million in health aid and donate 50,000 monkeypox vaccines, Prescott said. Since the beginning of 2023, within the framework of the current epidemic in the DR Congo, about 27,000 cases of the disease have been registered, of which over 1,100 have been fatal.