The United Nations
The Democratic Republic of Congo plans to set up a special fund to manage all aid donations coming into the country.
In a statement, Congo’s cabinet said its new Humanitarian Fund Management Agency would “manage, monitor and control humanitarian funds and work to channel all financial flows affecting the humanitarian sector” in the country.
The action comes a week after international donors pledged $528 million to bring food to millions of child refugees who are suffering from acute malnutrition and other health issues. The United Nations wants to raise a total of $2.2 billion in humanitarian aid for refugees in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
It still remains unclear how the new fund would work. Organizers are trying to determine whether international donors would agree to deposit money into an account run by the Kinshasa government – and whether the new fund would jeopardize donations already agreed under previous rules.
Still, the decision to change the way the DR Congo accepts funds comes at a delicate time.
President Joseph Kabila’s refusal to step down from power when his mandate ran out in 2016 has led to a breakdown in state authority in much of the remote east of Congo. That breakdown is stoking age-old conflicts that have forced 4.3 million people from their homes.
The country has also denied there is a humanitarian crisis and accused foreign powers of stigmatizing the country and scaring away investment.
