Half
a Million Hungry
ROME - WFP has welcomed the pledge of more than
US$ 9.5 million by the United States for its operation to feed nearly
half a million displaced people in the east of the Democratic Republic
of Congo. Last week, in a donor alert, the second in two months, WFP
warned that an appeal for funds had gone largely unanswered and that
it had received only five percent of the required funding. This comes
as civilians continue to flee the fierce inter-ethnic violence that
has ravaged the east of the country.
| "U.S.
responds to WFP appeal to feed half a million war victims at risk
of severe hunger..." |
WFP food reserves in the DRC are
low and the agency has been unable to reach all the people in
need. WFP launched an appeal in June for more than $38 million |
to provide 46,000 tonnes of food assistance to
people affected by the fighting. Even with the contribution from the
US, there is a shortfall of 60 percent. Millions of people have fled
their homes in fear. Many find themselves destitute and condemned
to hunger.
