Thousands begin receiving relief aid in North Kivu

Thousands of people recently displaced by fighting in the eastern province of North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) began receiving relief aid on Wednesday, the head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the main town of Goma said.

Essential non-food items such as blankets, jerry cans, plastic sheeting and soap, have begun being distributed to 21,000 displaced people, the OCHA official, Patrick Lavand'Homme, told IRIN.

The items are being distributed by the NGO, World Vision.

Distribution of food stuffs are to begin on Sunday, Robert Dekker, the official in charge of the Goma sub-office of the UN World Food Programme, said. The Roman Catholic NGO Caritas is set to distribute maize, flour, salt and vegetable oil; the German government's development organisation, GTZ, is organising the storing the food.

OXFAM-UK is to provide potable water. OCHA reported on Tuesday that the displaced people at Ngungu, one of the four sites hosting 4,136 displaced families, are already receiving the water.

The other sites are at Murambi, Gasake, Luinzi and Ruzirantaka, located between 65 and 89 km southeast of Goma.

Pit latrines are still urgently needed. "Some 30 have been built, but 150 are still needed to cope with the number of displaced," OCHA said.

OCHA said humanitarian organisations were encouraging the displaced families to form committees to build their own latrines out of material furnished by the UN Children's Fund.

The humanitarian organisations are taking a similar approach to digging ditches to drain rainwater. Water sources in Luzirantaka - an administrative zone in the locality of Lwisi - have caused gastroenteritis among the displaced.

Many people are still in need of sheeting, jerry cans and soap though some have arrived with non-food items they received in August when they were in Numbi, Shanje and Ciamilongue, OCHA said.

OCHA is still accessing the displaced people's need for food. "Many have come with their cattle," OCHA said.