Exclusive Telephone Briefing: Update on the Hunger Crisis in Kasai Region, DRC, by WFP’s Executive Director
Hunger is stalking the Democratic Republic of Congo’s conflict-ravaged Kasai region. One quarter of its population – more than three million people – are severely food insecure, with acute malnutrition well above the 10 percent emergency threshold in the worst-off communities
Many of the 1.4 million people forced from their homes are living in the forest, or have been taken in by families whose own meagre means are being further stretched as a result.
The UN World Food Programme is ramping up emergency assistance to avert a humanitarian catastrophe, planning to reach 500,000 people by end-December and many more by mid-2018.
Despite its severity, Kasai’s humanitarian crisis has received little attention. With WFP food supplies set to run out in December, support from the international community for the scale-up is essential.
David Beasley, WFP’s Executive Director, who is on a mission to Kasai and other parts of the DRC, will brief journalists on Monday, October 30 at 11:00am EST (16:00 hours/4.00 pm in Kinshasa/Rome/Geneva), offering a first-hand account of the crisis and explaining the gravity of the situation.
What: Telephone Briefing on Worsening Hunger Crisis in the Kasai Region of DRC
Who:
Briefing by: David Beasley, WFP Executive Director, speaking from Kinshasa
Introduction by: Peter Yeo, Vice President for Public Policy + Advocacy, UN Foundation
Moderator: Claire Baumann, Senior Editor, Digital Media + Public Affairs, UN Foundation
When: 11:00 am EST (16:00 hours / 4 pm in Kinshasa / Rome / Geneva) on Monday, 30 Oct., 2017
Where: Dial toll-free 1-800-247-5110 (within US) or +1-334-323-7224 (outside US). Enter Passcode 1813.
RSVP: Please let us know if you plan to participate by writing UN Foundation, hosts of this event, atpublicaffairsNYC@unfoundation.org
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WFP is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide, delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience. Each year, WFP assists some 80 million people in around 80 countries.
Follow us on Twitter: @WFP_Media
For more information, please contact (email address: firstname.lastname@wfp.org):
Gerald Bourke, WFP/Johannesburg (Mobile in Kinshasa: +27-829-081417
Steve Taravella, WFP/New York, Tel. +1-646-556-6909, Mob. +1-202-770-5993
Jane Howard, WFP/Rome, Tel. +39 06 65132321, Mob. +39 346 7600521
Bettina Luescher, WFP/Geneva, Tel. +41 22 917 8564, Mob. + 41-79-842-8057
Francis Mwanza, WFP/London, Tel. +44 20 72409001, Mob. +44 7968 008474
