World Food Programme Fighting Hunger Worldwide

Marie Mwenu Afia, a mother of three, was forced to flee her town February and seek refuge in Punia following attacks by Raia Mutomboki rebels. On her way to Punia she lost her daughter to illness. Now, insecurity and poor road and transport infrastructures in Punia continue to hamper humanitarian interventions.  As Mwenu acknowledges, the only real solution to their suffering is an improvement in the security situation so they can return home and resume their lives.

Barimeya, a father of 11, was forced to leave his village when rebels took control of Rutshuru territory. He and his family sought refuge in a camp near Goma, North Kivu’s provincial capital. He has since returned to his village. Like many others, he hopes the peace deal signed in Addis Ababa in late February will hold.

Crispin Mpigirwa is a WFP nutritionist, who works in the troubled east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where entire communities often have to abandon their homes to escape fighting. A Congolese national, with 15 years of experience in humanitarian work, Crispin is a key figure in WFP’s efforts to combat malnutrition in the camps for displaced people around Goma.

Nabintu’s husband was killed  by a gang of armed men last July. The mother of five tells how they came to their house in in Shabunda, South Kivu Province, in the middle of the night, forced their way inside and slaughtered him....

For years, Heal Africa, in North Kivu's provincial capital of Goma, has helped victims of sexual violence and children with HIV/AIDS. But when fresh conflict erupted, the non-profit opened its doors to the wounded as well. WFP is helping them recover through food assistance.

Violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has displaced more than 900,000 people this year alone. But in parts of North Kivu province, some are returning home. In early December, WFP distributed food rations to more than 60,000 of these returnees in Nyiragongo Territory, north of the provicial capital, Goma.

The conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has wrested children from their families and homes. Today, they count among the most vulnerable of the tens of thousands of displaced people in the region. Some have found refuge at the Don Bosco Center, a Catholic institution in Noth Kivu's provincial capital of Goma, where WFP is providing school meals. 

Relentless November rains demolished houses and left thousands of people homeless in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo. WFP came to the rescue, with food distributions that are helping flood victims survive — and tide them over as they repair the damage and begin farming again.

After tens of thousands of people fled a new flareup of violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, US philanthropist Howard G. Buffett visited the region in early December to view their plight first-hand. As the unrest abates, his foundation has donated $1 million to WFP to help returnees restart their lives.

An upsurge of fighting in Eastern Congo has forced thousands of families to flee their homes, leaving them with little access to food. WFP, which was already feeding nearly half a million displaced people in the North Kivu province, is responding to the new needs with food distributions in and around the city of Goma.