The United Nations World Food Programme is scaling up food assistance, logistics and telecommunications support in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo as Ebola continues to spread through communities already affected by conflict, displacement and severe hunger. WFP warns that food assistance is essential to helping contain the outbreak, as hunger and insecurity make it harder for families to follow recommended health measures.
The outbreak is taking place in one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises. Ebola cases continue to be reported in Ituri and northern North Kivu, while the virus now affects 34 health zones across Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu. Many of these areas are already facing acute food insecurity, population movement and limited access to basic services.
Food insecurity is a major concern in the affected provinces. Thirty of the 34 Ebola-affected health zones are facing crisis levels of hunger or worse, including seven zones facing emergency levels of hunger. Across eastern DRC, more than 10 million people are food insecure, leaving families with limited ability to cope with another shock.
WFP is supporting more than 1.2 million people through food assistance, nutrition support, logistics, telecommunications and air services. Since 28 May, more than 36,000 hot meals have reached over 1,600 patients, caregivers and contacts across 14 treatment and isolation centres. Take-home rations have supported more than 2,600 people in North Kivu and Ituri, while monthly food assistance is reaching 14,000 people in ten quarantined villages in South Kivu.
The agency is also supporting nutrition activities in seven affected health zones, although gaps in nutrition screening and weak triage systems continue to limit targeted interventions. These challenges are especially serious as hunger and malnutrition are expected to worsen with the approaching lean season.
WFP is providing the logistics backbone of the Ebola response by helping health and humanitarian partners reach affected communities quickly and safely. The WFP-managed United Nations Humanitarian Air Service has conducted 268 flights, transported more than 1,750 humanitarian responders and delivered 36 metric tons of critical cargo to frontline areas.
Additional logistics support includes WFP-chartered aircraft that have moved nearly 154 metric tons of medical supplies, protective equipment, laboratory equipment and other life-saving cargo to Ebola-affected areas. A dedicated helicopter is helping reach hotspots such as Mongbwalu and Nyakunde, while a Hercules C-130 aircraft has transported essential supplies from Uganda to Bunia.
Access remains a major obstacle because affected health zones are close to conflict frontlines and communities are being forced to move in search of food and safety. WFP and partners are working to expand access to newly affected areas, including Butembo, Bambu, Kilo, Nizi, Tchomia and Kasenyi, where hunger and displacement are already widespread.
WFP urgently requires USD 72 million over the next six months to sustain food assistance, UNHAS and logistics operations for the Ebola response. Across DRC, the agency needs USD 286 million over the next six months to keep vital food assistance moving. Without urgent support, rising hunger, insecurity and population movement could further complicate containment efforts and increase the risk of wider transmission.
