Humanitarians “picking up the pieces”

A UN report on the situation in the Great Lakes notes that as war continues to grip the region, the humanitarian community is left to “pick up the pieces” and support fragile communities trying to hold together. A mid-term review on the region, issued by the UN’s Consolidated Inter-Agency Appeal, warned that relief work was becoming more and more complicated as political reconciliation attempts floundered. The report stressed the urgency of making up the 47.6 percent shortfall in funding for the Great Lakes region, noting that the work of some agencies was seriously threatened. The drought in the region has compounded the problems caused by ongoing conflict, as has the relentless spread of HIV/AIDS. “From a humanitarian perspective the constraints are huge and the needs extensive,” the report said. “Large segments of the population continue to suffer from malnutrition and disease. Destroyed infrastructure, poor living conditions and a lack of access to medical care contribute to the high disease rate.”