Switzerland contributes $2.8 M to tackle hunger in Democratic Republic of the Congo

In need of food assistance and treatment to prevent malnutrition

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has announced a $ 2.8 million contribution from the Government of Switzerland to support emergency food and nutrition assistance in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

The funding from Switzerland comes at a critical time as it enables DRC to respond to the food and nutritional needs of children and breastfeeding mothers suffering from acute malnutrition.

Over the past years, the Government of Switzerland has been a consistent and strong supporter of WFP in the DRC.  In 2022, Switzerland contributed $22 million through the Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC) to WFP’s Immediate Response Account, a life-saving funding facility allowing WFP to respond to emergencies. WFP used $4.3 million of this contribution to provide critical humanitarian assistance to 226,000 people in eastern DRC.  

DRC’s humanitarian situation remains dire, partly due to the continued conflict in eastern DRC and poor agricultural productivity, with 26 million people facing food insecurity. 2.6 million children and 1.8 million pregnant and breastfeeding mothers need food assistance and treatment to prevent malnutrition. WFP requires $285 million to meet the needs of 7.2 million people in the next six months.