Improved access raises fears of grim discoveries

The malnutrition figures just in from Kasika, near Bukavu, had Claude Jibidar and his World Food Programme (WFP) team in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) more than a little confused. Like many parts of the DRC they had had little or no access to Kasika since war began in the DRC 32 months ago. "We didn’t know quite what to expect not having had access to the area for so long," said Jibidar, "but we certainly didn’t expect what we found." Jibidar’s team had reported that malnutrition rates in Kasika were far higher amongst adults than their children – a trend that seemed to contradict everything that Jibidar and his team had learnt from years of dealing with humanitarian crises. "At first we thought there must be something wrong with the figures, until we realised what they were really telling us," said Jibidar. "Namely that the children had already died." Jibidar now fears that following recent moves toward peace in the DRC and the greater access that this has allowed humanitarian actors there, stories like Kasika will start to become the rule and not the exception. "If we hadn’t been without access for so long we would have been able to do something for those children," said Jibidar, reflecting a sentiment widely held by the humanitarian community in the DRC. So when UN Secretary General Kofi Annan despatched his Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs to the DRC last week, the issue of access was at the forefront of Kenzo Oshima’s agenda. "The one cross-cutting issue that affects all operations is the issue of access," Oshima said. According to United Nations statistics, at least one third of the population of the DRC, or 16 million people, are suffering from malnutrition. More than two million have been displaced from their homes with 75 percent of the population lacking access to basic healthcare. It is estimated that between two and three million civilians have lost their lives since the war began in August 1998. During his visit Oshima met with leaders of the rebel Congolese Liberation Front (CLF) and Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD-Goma) factions and government leaders in Kinshasa. DRC President Joseph Kabila reiterated his 24 March commitment to allow free movement of goods and personnel around the country in the most significant break yet with his late father, Laurent-Desire Kabila’s policy of obstructionism. Rebel leaders were similarly reassuring. "In our area, humanitarian agencies have always been free to work," said Joseph Mudumbi head of the RCD's foreign affairs department. "We are doing what we can to facilitate the humanitarian agencies because our people need help." For its part, the CLF said it was "more than serious" in its commitment to facilitate humanitarian action. "We are in a people’s struggle which means that whatever we do, we do for the population," said Dominique Kanku, CLF spokesman. But despite the rhetoric of cooperation and commitment to humanitarian principles from the protagonists, there is still, in the words of Mudumbi, "a lot of suspicion on both sides". The suspicions were borne out last weekend when the RCD refused to allow the deployment of UN peacekeepers in the rebel held town of Kisangani, citing alleged ceasefire violations by government troops as the cause of their recalcitrance. In an attempt to tackle the humanitarian crisis and allay these suspicions, UN staff in Kinshasa have developed a proposal for the delivery of humanitarian aid from rebel-held zones to government-held areas and across the frontlines that separate their forces. Food surplus in Equateur and Kivu provinces would be shipped to Kinshasa where residents face a one million tonne food shortage this year. "We are determined not to ship in food from outside the country when we know that a surplus exists right here in the DRC," said Michel Kassa, head of the UN OCHA office in Kinshasa. The proposal, dubbed the ‘Boat for Peace’ initiative, envisages shipments of surplus food from the northwest Equateur province to Kinshasa beginning in early June. By involving the warring factions in dialogue and obliging them to take risks for peace it is hoped that the Boat for Peace will also spur the peace process itself. "Getting them to commit to the Boat for Peace would force the belligerents to address the needs of the population and show us that they mean what they say," said Kassa. "It also establishes a platform for dialogue that could go even further toward restoring peace." If the project works then the network would be expanded to move surplus from the eastern North and South Kivu provinces as well. Plans are also being discussed to reopen railways and rehabilitate roads. "The symbolism of cooperation between the factions is almost as important as the delivery of the food itself," Kassa added. During his visit, Oshima introduced the Boat for Peace initiative to rebel and government leaders who he says responded positively to the idea. "It requires co-operation from all sides for the river to be used," he said. "And freedom of movement across the frontline is what this country really needs if the problems are to be resolved." "The Lusaka ceasefire and Harare disengagement plan, the withdrawal of foreign troops and the deployment of MONUC [UN Mission in Congo] – all these developments provide a real chance for peace and peace is the most necessary environment needed for improving our humanitarian action," Oshima said. But despite the optimism surrounding the Boat for Peace initiative, aid workers like Claude Jibidar agree with Oshima that peace is the crucial prerequisite before there can be any meaningful deployment of humanitarian agencies in the interior of the country. Even then Jibidar realises that agencies like his will have their work cut out for them. When WFP finally obtained security clearance to make the Kasika trip last month, it took their convoy of trucks an incredible 30 days to travel the 138 km from Bukavu. "This gives you an idea of the magnitude of the problem we face, particularly if you compare that to the size of the country," Jibidar said. "Even if we are assured access and security you can see that we have a major undertaking ahead of us."