Belgian envoy stresses priorities

Belgium’s envoy on humanitarian issues in Central Africa, Reginald Moreels, has expressed “moderate optimism” about the situation in DRC. Addressing a news conference in Brussels on Friday, attended by IRIN, he also gave the “benefit of the doubt” to regional leaders. But overall, he described the current humanitarian situation in the DRC as one of “economic misery, social exclusion and a crisis of values”. “Three quarters of the population should have disappeared, but this has not been the case,” he noted. “These people have amazing resilience and the community systems are so strong, that despite everything they still survive.” The three priorities for the population were food, medical care and employment, Moreels said. “But humanitarian aid is fictional as long as there is no political input,” he added, referring to examples he saw of 2,000 tons of maize going rotten in Equateur province because of insecurity on the river. “Starting from now, we should help various sectors and ministries which have a great social impact, such as health, education, justice, transportation, agriculture,” he stated. “We should also support community actors by extending micro-credits and establishing minimum wages for the workers.” Moreels is currently preparing a plan to be finalised by the end of June. It will be then introduced to the EU and other donors during the Belgian presidency of the European Union later this year.