As the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) remains highly volatile, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is launching a preliminary emergency appeal to help up to 60,000 Congolese refugees in Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi.
The appeal seeking 1.8 million Swiss francs (1.5 million US dollars/1.2 million euro)will enable the Red Cross Red Crescent societies in the three countries to assist 20,000 beneficiaries each over the coming six months and will complement the 330,000 Swiss francs already released by the IFRC from its Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF).
Continued fighting in DRC’s North Kivu Province has led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people. Many have remained in DRC while tens of thousands have fled into Rwanda and Uganda. “If the current peace talks in Nairobi do not gain pace, there is a serious risk that fighting might intensify and spread. In that case we are looking at a potential 50,000 to 100,000 refugees fleeing the DRC,” says Dennis Johnson, deputy head of the IFRC’s Eastern Africa zone, in Nairobi.
According to Johnson, the direction of population movement has an ethnic dimension and will depend on where fighting is taking place in DRC and which group is carrying out the offensive.
“It is these scenarios that are driving the urgency for this appeal in order to better shore up our combined resources and capabilities to respond to the crisis in a timely and effective manner to alleviate suffering of those displaced by the fighting,” says Johnson.
On 27 November alone, some 10,000 refugees crossed the Ishasha border into Uganda. Estimates from UNHCR indicate that more than 30,000 have fled from DRC since August.
The Uganda and Rwanda Red Cross societies continue to remain principle actors in the humanitarian intervention taking place within their respective borders working closely with UNHCR and other partners.
While helping some 200 people so far, the Rwanda Red Cross has mobilized both relief articles and volunteers to Gisenyi and surrounding communities to meet with refugees and initiate delivery of humanitarian assistance.
In Uganda, where the Red Cross is leading Congolese refugee registration and hosts people while they wait to be relocated to refugee camps, emergency relief articles pre-positioned near Kisoro were the first to be distributed. The National Society has distributed tarpaulins, blankets, jerry cans, cooking utensils and bar soap to over a thousand households. Red Cross volunteers continue to be mobilized throughout south-western Uganda to provide additional human resources to other agencies.
In both countries pre-positioning of non food articles, as well as water and sanitation resources is taking place in order to better prepare for any potential increase in refugee arrivals.
While there are no confirmed reports of population movement into Burundi to date, the Red Cross remains in close contact with authorities and other humanitarian actors to ensure that, if needed, the contingency plan is activated and implemented in a coordinated manner.
For the full appeal document and for more information on the Red Cross Red Crescent response visit ~/link/f51a37df1cdf456788096853eed9a6cb.aspxdocs/appeals/08/MDR64004.pdf or www.ifrc.org