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European Commission pledges 40 million euros in humanitarian aid for Congo

by AI | 04.Apr 2025 | Europe in brief AI

In response to the “drastic deterioration of the humanitarian situation” in the east of the country, the European Commission has pledged an additional aid package of 40 million euros to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Hadja Lahbib, European Commissioner for Equality. © BELGA PHOTO DIRK WAEM

The crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo is a humanitarian disaster unfolding before our eyes. More than 20 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance and more than 7 million people are internally displaced,” said European Commissioner for Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib during a roundtable conference she is organizing on Friday together with the United Nations and the African Union.

In January, the European Union had already pledged 60 million euros in support, bringing the total support for this year to 100 million euros. In addition, the EU has set up a humanitarian airbridge that has so far enabled the delivery of 44 tons of aid supplies to the Masisi region. Additional flights and land convoys are planned to bring extra humanitarian assistance to the European partner organizations on the ground.

The east of Congo has been plagued by conflicts and violence for decades, but the crisis in this region rich in resources has taken a new turn in recent months with the conquests of the rebel movement M23, which is supported by the army of neighboring Rwanda. At the end of January, M23 captured Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, and in mid-February Bukavu, the capital of the neighboring province of South Kivu, followed.