Fragile food security in Kinshasa

Worsening economic conditions and people’s diminishing purchasing power are taking an increasingly heavy toll on food security in Kinshasa, humanitarian sources say. Imports of fuel, food and other basic commodities have decreased since the government introduced new currency regulations, and food availability in the capital has been reduced by the transport of some food supplies from Kinshasa to Brazzaville, the sources said. The closing or scaling-down of some factories and businesses in Kinshasa has led to rising unemployment, while increases in public transportation costs have further reduced the amount of money people have for food, the sources added. Meanwhile, families on the outskirts of Kinshasa devote 90 percent of their daily expenses for the purchase of food and consume meat only once every 15 days, according to a recent survey cited in a food security report prepared by FAO in Kinshasa. Thirty-nine church-run feeding centres for malnourished children in the city reported a total of 145 deaths in December 1998, the report added. The monthly average for the year was 100 deaths.