The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s conflict-driven hunger crisis is worsening as violence in the eastern provinces surges, forcing families to flee again. While more and more people arrive in already overcrowded camps, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) is struggling to feed those most in need, because humanitarian funding fails to keep pace.

The conflict has displaced nearly one million people in the DRC since the start of the year, with most arriving in Goma; this has led to food shortages and pushed the price of food in Goma’s markets out of reach for many.

In response, WFP has vastly expanded its emergency operations in the East—tripling the number of people it is reaching with food assistance from an average of 400,000 people in May 2023 to an average of 1.3 million people today. However, the UN food agency does not have the funds to keep this emergency response going.

On a recent visit to Goma, WFP’s Executive Director, Cindy McCain, witnessed firsthand the horrors unfolding for millions affected by the conflict.

“The city of Goma is surrounded by tens of thousands of temporary shelters, and the numbers are growing every single day. The displaced people crammed into them urgently require food, clean water and sanitation. WFP needs the support of donors and partners to step up our response to this worsening crisis and provide badly needed assistance to people living in the camps before it’s too late,” said Executive Director McCain.

Around a quarter of DRC’s population – 23.4 million people – are facing crisis levels of hunger or worse. Many live in poor and cramped conditions with little or no access to food, health services, and education.

At the heart of a deepening hunger crisis lies a catastrophic situation for women and girls, particularly those living in IDP camps. Women and girls face a constant threat of sexual violence, particularly when they go searching for firewood to sell to buy food for their families.  Putting food assistance in the hands of women and providing them with livelihood opportunities is key to curbing the horrifying rates of gender-based violence in DRC.

WFP needs US$ 548.5 million to keep comprehensive operations running in the DRC. At minimum, WFP needs US$425 million for the next six months to support those most in need in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where violence has led to mass displacement.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Food Programme (WFP).

The Government of Lesotho has endorsed and launched the Emergency, Preparedness, and Response Flagship Initiative Roadmap. This was done with the support from the World Health Organisation(WHO) and Africa CDC.

In 2023, the country enrolled in the WHO EPR Flagships initiative. The overarching goal of the Emergency, Preparedness, and Response flagship initiative is to promote health security in the African Region and contribute to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 3 – “ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all ages.

The three Emergency, Preparedness, and Response flagship initiatives are (i) promoting the resilience of systems for emergencies (ii) transforming African surveillance systems, and (iii) strengthening and utilizing response groups for emergencies.

 These were developed by the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa and Africa CDC by recommendations from various WHO committees and lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic to strengthen health emergency preparedness and response for member states in the African region.

Speaking on the importance of this initiative during the endorsement event, WHO Representative to Lesotho, Dr. Richard Banda stated that health security is a critical mission for Lesotho.

“If we miss this opportunity, we risk subjecting Lesotho to the same flaws that hindered the national response to COVID-19: a deficiency in coordination, information sharing, and case management.  We cannot permit the pattern of fear and disregard to continue. The pandemic left us all with terrible lessons that we will never be able to forget”.

In addition, the National Coordinator for Africa CDC in Lesotho, Ester Muchenje said the launch of the flagship roadmap in Lesotho is a big milestone that will ensure joint efforts to protect the health of the people, and Africa CDC is delighted to be part of this initiative.

“Africa CDC is working together with the WHO in the flagship initiative to capacitate member states to be able to prepare, detect, and respond to health emergencies in line with the Africa CDC’s mission”.

In her remarks, the Principal Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Maneo Ntene said the endorsement and launching of the validated Emergency, Preparedness, and Response  Flagship Initiative Roadmap by stakeholders marks the beginning of the implementation of activities.

She appreciated the support from partners and emphasized the need for multi-sectoral collaboration to achieve health security in Lesotho.

“We thank the partners who contributed to the success of the implementation plan. We solicit the commitment of partners and relevant sectors to mainstream the activities in the roadmap to their plans”.

The launch was attended by stakeholders from the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Public Works, Ministry of Information, and representatives from the Office of the Prime.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Health Organization (WHO) – Lesotho.

DLA Piper (www.DLAPiper.com) is pleased to welcome Kalidou Gadio as co-chair of the US-Africa Practice based out of the firm’s Washington, DC office.

Gadio’s practice focuses on strategic and economic development projects involving energy, natural resources, and infrastructure. He represents developers, construction companies, financiers and sovereign states on financing structures, risk allocation, financing arrangements, and relevant security packages. Gadio also advises governments and corporations in Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT), and in disputes involving foreign investments in the energy and natural resources sectors.

Gadio brings deep knowledge of the Sub-Saharan Africa and MENA regions, having previously spent 27 years at the African Development Bank, including eight years as general counsel. During his tenure, he played a critical role in creating Africa50, an investment bank for continental Africa with a slated capital of US$3 billion, and setting up the African Legal Support Facility, which provides legal and capacity building services for African governments negotiating major commercial and infrastructure contracts. Gadio’s notable experience also includes restructuring Shelterafrique into a full DFI, counseling African governments in legislative reforms, institutional capacity building, and advising sovereign corporations, private enterprises and public-private partnerships on project finance transactions.

“We have a bold vision to be the preeminent provider of legal services supporting business between the United States and the African continent. Kalidou is a tremendous talent with a breadth of experience in Africa that is matched by few. Sought after by companies and governments alike for his counsel and insight on a range of issues impacting the continent, he will play a critical role in achieving our vision. We look forward to introducing him to our clients whilst also leveraging our firm’s unrivaled Africa footprint and reputation to support his practice,” said Naana Frimpong, co-chair of DLA Piper’s US-Africa Practice.

“Kalidou has accrued a wealth of experience over an illustrious career and has a deep knowledge of the ways in which we may more meaningfully support our clients with their Africa needs. He will be instrumental in further strengthening our work between the US and Africa, and we are thrilled to have him join us,” said William Minor, DLA Piper’s office managing partner of the Washington, DC office.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of DLA Piper.

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DLA Piper Africa operates in 20 countries across the continent, offering unrivalled local skill and presence, backed by the resources of one of the world’s largest law firms. The wider global Africa team is based in key hubs such as London, New York, Paris, Washington D.C., Dubai, Perth, Hong Kong and Beijing. DLA Piper Africa is a Swiss verein whose members are comprised of independent law firms in Africa working with DLA Piper. www.DLAPiperAfrica.com

On March 22, the Cabinet approved the holding of the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9) in Yokohama from August 20 to 22, 2025, and the awards ceremony for the Fifth Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize on that occasion.

For approximately 30 years since the launch of TICAD in 1993, the Government of Japan has been making efforts based on the spirit of supporting African-led development. Through the TICAD process, Japan will further deepen its relations with African countries.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.