On Wednesday, the United States announced $424 million in aid and humanitarian support to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which is in a state of emergency due to armed conflict in the eastern region.
The region, especially the North Kivu province, has been grappling with armed violence for 30 years and has been in serious crisis since November 2021, with the resurgence of the Rwanda-supported M23 group.
The M23 has seized vast swathes of territory within a couple of years and is nearly encircling Goma, the provincial capital of North Kivu, leading to an influx of displaced people.
The US ambassador to the DRC, Lucy Tamlyn, and the US representative to the UN food and agriculture agencies, Jeffrey Prescott, announced that $414 million of the aid package will be allocated to humanitarian assistance. According to the UN, 7.3 million people are displaced in the DRC.
The remaining ten million dollars is for “health assistance” in response to the Mpox virus outbreak. The US is donating 50,000 Mpox vaccines to the DRC. As of August 3, there are 14,479 confirmed and suspected cases and 455 deaths in the country.