The recent spike in armed and inter-community violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s eastern province of Ituri is worsening the plight of children, with serious violations against women and children being reported, UNICEF has warned.
According to the children’s agency, there have been nearly 175 grave violations since January 2021, including cases of recruitment of children into armed groups, killings and maiming of children, sexual violence and attacks on schools and hospitals.
It also notes that humanitarian groups were denied full access to the most violence-affected areas in the territories of Djugu and Irumu.
UNICEF’s Senior Coordinator for eastern DR Congo, Jean Metenier, urges the international community to step up response to the crisis.
“We continue to raise the alarm on the terrible situation of children in Ituri because we do not want the world to become numb to this desperate humanitarian crisis,” said Metenier.
“Every day, children and their rights are undermined through relentless violence and grave rights violations, displacement, rising food insecurity, and lack of access to pretty much every basic service, including schooling.”
The U.N. estimates that more than 1.6 million people are displaced in Ituri, out of a total population of 5.7 million people. Some 2.8 million people are in need of some form of emergency assistance.
At the same time, more than 100,000 children under five are suffering from severe acute malnutrition, a direct consequence of the alarmingly high levels of food insecurity that affects nearly 800,000 people.
UNICEF says it is mobilising a multisectoral response that integrates child protection, water and sanitation, health, education and nutrition in South Irumu. The agency has called upon humanitarian actors to deploy resources to further support its activities in the DR Congo.
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