Through invaluable food distribution, ACTED has helped many vulnerable refugees and host communities living in the Bas-Uele et North Ubang provinces of the DRC.
Since the political crisis of 2013, many Central Africans have sought refuge in neighboring countries, especially in the DRC. Due to the massive influx of refugees and the frequent occurrence of natural disasters (such as floods or heat waves), communities hosting refugees are faced with increasingly limited resources, jeopardizing their local economy.
In two of the neighboring territories, Bondo and Ango, the last group of refugees to arrive in May 2017 not only greatly exacerbated the population density in an already hard-to-access area, but also increased food insecurity for the refugees and their host communities.
Since August 2019, ACTED has implemented a food security program with the goal to help those most vulnerable in the region.
Food Distribution for Refugees and Host Families
ACTED has provided food assistance to the Angbunga group in the territory of Ango. This population is particularly hard to access, as the area is landlocked and armed groups are stationed along the roads, which negatively impacts the agriculture sector and other sources of revenue for the families living there.
ACTED has helped 3,347 households receive access to food.
Mother Lea, representative of Central African refugee women in Zapay, says « Our families can now eat three times a day because of the assistance. »
ACTED’s goal was to distribute food to these communities in a context of peace, security, and cooperation. To do so, ACTED has created a task force which gathers feedback from people, ensuring that distributions are conducted in a transparent and efficient way. Local authorities (including refugee representatives, community leaders…) play a pivotal role in the planning and monitoring of distributions, providing support in the dissemination of information on how to best protect people from Covid-19, handle complaints, and ensure distributions are accessible for people with special needs.
To support the resilience of these communities, ACTED seeks to accompany food distributions with income-generating activities, helping reduce long-term aid reliance.
This project is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
