Emergency Relief and Development Organization is partnering with Communauté des Églises de Pentecôte en Afrique Centrale (CEPAC) on a food assistance project in Baraka City, Fizi Area, South Kivu Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The DRC is facing one of the world’s largest hunger crises, with about 40 percent of the population facing food insecurity at IPC Level 3 or above, including 15.7 million people facing IPC Level 4. Approximately 4.45 million children under five and over 3.71 million pregnant and breastfeeding women are expected to face elevated levels of acute malnutrition between July 2024 and June 2025 with over 1.39 million children at risk of severe malnutrition who require immediate assistance.
In Fizi Territory and in Baraka city, chronic food insecurity is rooted in governance challenges, inequitable resource distribution, and limited socio-economic investment, but made even worse by armed conflicts, gender-based violence, forced displacement, and looting of food reserves and livestock. In addition, flooding has left thousands homeless and has washed away many fields. Animal diseases have also further disrupted food systems and agricultural production. As a result of these problems, food prices in local markets have doubled.
The project will provide 5 months of monthly, in-kind food assistance consisting of 12 kg of maize flour, 4 kg of beans, 0.75 L of vegetable oil, and 0.25 kg of salt for each person in a household. The project will reach 5,650 participants in 942 households.