WFP to provide over 130,000 mt of food to the needy

The UN food agency, WFP, is hoping to provide a total of 134,565 mt of food to the "most needy" Congolese, over a two-year period, at the overall operational support cost of US $112.3 million. "However, only 13,100 mt of food have been resourced to date," WFP said in its latest emergency update. It said a total of 74,000 mt of food are required to cover the needs this year. "In order to achieve the target, WFP needs confirmed monthly pledges of 10,000 mt for the next six months," it said. WFP formalised its agreement with the DRC government for the implementation of the first Protracted Relief and Rehabilitation Operation (PRRO) in the country early this month. Through the PRRO, which follows several emergency operations in the region and country, WFP aims to supply food aid to 1.4 million beneficiaries this year and 1.16 million during 2002. "The beneficiaries are mainly Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), malnourished children, vulnerable groups and refugees," WFP said. The total number of people affected by conflict in the DRC was more than 2.33 million as of the end of 2000, of which two million were IDPs and 333,000 refugees, figures from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) show.