260,000 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition in the Kasai region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo | WPN World People News

UNICEF estimates that 260,000 children in the Kasai region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are suffering from severe acute malnutrition and need lifesaving treatment. Thousands of children from Kasai who have fled with their families to the neighboring Provinces of Kwilu and Kwango are also suffering from malnutrition.

As a result of violence and insecurity between 2016 and 2018, Kasai faced large scale population displacements, child rights abuses and high levels of malnutrition among children. Even though pockets of insecurity remain today, thousands of families who had fled into the bush have now returned to their communities.

In the last two years, UNICEF and its partners have treated 200,000 severely malnourished children in the Kasai region. To help children return to school, UNICEF has rehabilitated 500 classrooms that had been burned down or looted during the violence and assisted more than 100,000 children with psychosocial support and education material. UNICEF has also assisted more than 5,000 unaccompanied children and children associated with militias, and supported their reintegration with their families and communities.

“We have been working tirelessly with partners and local communities in the Kasai region to support the slow recovery process following years of conflict and violence that have devastated children and families,” said Dr. Gianfranco Rotigliano, UNICEF Representative in the DRC. “However, we are concerned that recent gains for children might be lost in this fragile situation, now that we have many people returning to the region from Angola.”

The return of at least 300,000 Congolese people from Angola is incurring additional stress on health centers, schools and other basic services in Kasai. As a result, access to essential and lifesaving services is compromised for many children.

Source: UNICEF