The EU said on Saturday it is releasing more than $49.97m (R906.6m) for humanitarian aid for the Democratic Republic of Congo's North Kivu province and plans to send a flight with medical supplies and food to the conflict-stricken eastern region.
“The EU stands ready to mobilise all the necessary means to support humanitarian workers, including logistics and air, to meet the needs of the population in Democratic Republic of the Congo,” European Commissioner Janez Lenarcic said.
“With this Humanitarian Air Bridge operation organised with the support of France and the new fund mobilisation, we reaffirm our support to the most vulnerable,” Lenarcic, the commissioner for crisis management, said.
The flight will head to Goma, the capital of North Kivu, and deliver aid including medical and nutritional supplies.
The funds will “be channelled through humanitarian partners to cover immediate needs such as nutrition, health care, water and sanitation, shelter and protection”, the EU said.
Insecurity has spiralled in the long volatile east of the sprawling central African country over the past year, mainly due to the major comeback of a rebel group known as the M23. Their latest offensives have added instability to large mineral-rich provinces struggling with decades of militia violence.
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