Reduced harvest expected in Uvira

Late rains, renewed displacement, recent insecurity and looting of seeds and tools will result in a reduced harvest in the Uvira area of South Kivu, an NGO assessment has found. As a result of the situation, the number of people in the area requiring support has increased, with some “highly vulnerable” groups requiring urgent assistance, Food for the Hungry International (FHI) said. In a report received by IRIN, FHI also said some 11,000 people displaced from the Vyura and Kalemie areas of Katanga were currently living in crowded conditions and “below a minimum acceptable humanitarian standard” in Uvira’s schools and factories. However, the Vyura displaced were just one of many vulnerable groups in the area, and aid should therefore be provided proportionally, FHI said. The NGO’s agricultural programme targeting some 6,000 vulnerable families in Uvira was suspended in August due to the conflict. Meanwhile, humanitarian sources said the security situation in Uvira had improved and night-time shootings had stopped. It was possible to travel by road between Baraka and Kamanyola, and the border to Burundi was now open, the sources said. However, the escarpment road north of Kamanyola continued to be plagued by banditry, they added.