Rehabilitation of minor roads imminent

The UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) announced on Wednesday the imminent rehabilitation of minor roads in parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), saying the measure would be "a vital step" towards delivering food to hungry people. "The rehabilitation of more than 300 km of small roads close to [the capital] Kinshasa, Kikwit, Mbanza Ngungu, Mvuazi, Kisangani and Goma will give people access to the main food markets in the region all year round", Alexis Bonte, the agency's emergency coordinator for eastern DRC, said. The FAO, which is spearheading the effort, funded by Italy and Sweden, said it would first concentrate on the Ngungu and the Kako Jomba roads in North Kivu, near the eastern city of Goma. Roads in the provinces of Bandundu and Bas-Congo would also be repaired. Broken bridges would also form part of the rehabilitation effort in the agency's drive to boost rural food security and agricultural production. Repairs to the roads, due for completion by June 2003, would enable farmers to reach markets and improve access for humanitarian aid, the agency reported. The FAO also said that the Old Buta Road near the city of Kisangani, Province Orientale, would be rehabilitated, as well as the so-called Elephant Road, also near the northeastern city. FAO describes the DRC as being among the countries with the highest percentage of undernourished people worldwide. It says 73 percent of the country's 52 million people are undernourished. The number of chronically hungry people increased from around 12 million in 1990-92 to around 36 million in 1998-2000, it says. FAO item