150 route de Ferney, P.O. Box 2100 1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland Appeal Tel: 41 22 791 6033 Fax: 41 22 791 6506 e-mail: [email protected] Coordinating Office Democratic Republic of the Congo Emergency Relief & Rehabilitation for War Victims AFDC-22 Appeal Target: US$3,948,155 Geneva, 5 March 2002 Dear Colleagues, Despite the Lusaka Agreement signed in July 1999, the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo continues. The eastern part of the country is still controlled by the rebel groups supported by Rwanda and Uganda, while the other half under the Kinshasa government of Kabila is being supported by Zimbabwe and Angola. However, since Joseph Kabila took power in January 2001, the international community has observed some progress and openness in DRC’s diplomatic efforts. Some warring parties also have shown willingness to withdraw in line with the Lusaka agreement. The security situation in the eastern half of the country however still remains very volatile as the warring factions, ethnic groups and other non-state actors continue to clash. South and North Kivu, and Kisangani regions have been among the worst affected. The damages to infrastructure are vast, poverty has reached very high proportions, civil servants are not being paid, small commercial activities have been halted while hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced. Accurate statistics of people needing humanitarian aid are difficult to obtain due to the insecurity prevailing in some of the places where the displaced are living. However, the UN estimates the number of internally displaced people at about 2 million and approximately 16 million people considered to be vulnerable. Several ACT members have been providing assistance to the war affected people in the eastern part of the country but their programs have mainly been hampered by poor funding of the appeals. In this appeal ACT members, Christian Aid (CA), Church of Christ in Congo (ECC) have proposals to provide humanitarian assistance in South Kivu and Maniema, while the Bureau Oecumenique d’Appui Development (BOAD), in North Kivu, and the Lutheran World Federation / World Service (LWF/WS) and ECC in Kisangani. The sectors of response will include; food security, health care and nutrition, shelter, non-food items, capacity building for local partners, and peace and reconciliation. It must be mentioned however that the ACT Co-ordinating Office is concerned about the high budgets of some of the proposals in the appeal given that previous appeals have not been well funded. This, in spite of the accurate and real humanitarian needs stated in the proposals and the implementing member’s capacity to implement the planned programs. The implementing members in the appeal have been advised to prioritise their activities and revise the budgets downwards. ACT CO has indicated flexibility in revising the appeal once the prioritisation and review of budgets has been done by the implementing members. ACT is a worldwide network of churches and related agencies meeting human need through coordinated emergency response. The ACT Coordinating Office is based with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Switzerland. D.R. of Congo – Relief & Rehab. for War Victims 2 AFDC-22 Appeal ACT CO has also included a budget line for an external evaluation of this appeal planned for around mid-year. This evaluation is considered essential because of the serious humanitarian situation in the DR Congo which has been described by the UN to be among the worst in the world. The evaluation will also address the ACT response to the Goma Volcano that took place in mid-January 2002. Project Completion Date: CAID - 31 December 2002 LWF/WS-ECC - 31 December 2002 BOAD - 31 December 2002 ECC - 20 June 2002 Summary of Appeal Targets, Pledges/Contributions Received and Balance Requested ACT LWF/DWS CAID BOAD ECC Total Evaluation S Kivu Target US$ Total Appeal Targets 50,000 1,835,745 1,303,530 514,710 244,170 3,948,155 Less: Pledges/Contr. Recd 0 0 0 0 0 0 Balance Requested from 50,000 1,835,745 1,303,530 514,710 244,170 3,948,155 ACT Network Please kindly send your contributions to the following ACT bank account: Account Number – 240-432629.60A (USD) Account Name: ACT - Action by Churches Together UBS SA PO Box 2600 1211 Geneva 2 SWITZERLAND Please also inform the Finance Officer Jessie Kgoroeadira (direct tel. +4122/791.60.38, e-mail address [email protected]) of all pledges/contributions and transfers, including funds sent direct to the implementers, now that the Pledge Form is no longer attached to the Appeal. We would appreciate being informed of any intent to submit applications for EU, USAID and/or other back donor funding and the subsequent results. We thank you in advance for your kind cooperation. For further information please contact: ACT Director, Thor-Arne Prois (phone +41 22 791 6033 or mobile phone + 41 79 203 6055) or ACT Appeals Officer, John Nduna (phone +41 22 791 6040 or mobile phone +41 79 433 0592) ACT Web Site address: http://www.act-intl.org Ms. Geneviève Jacques Thor-Arne Prois Robert Granke Director Director, ACT Director WCC/Cluster on Relations LWF/World Service D.R. of Congo – Relief & Rehab. for War Victims 3 AFDC-22 Appeal DESCRIPTION OF THE EMERGENCY SITUATION The eastern portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), currently under the control of rebel factions supported by Rwanda and Uganda, has been at war with government forces based in Kinshasa since August 1998. Government forces continue to be supported by military assistance from Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia. The country is divided roughly in half with a front line that runs from the Northwest to the Southeast part of the country. All sides agreed to a cease-fire by signing the Lusaka Peace Agreement in July 1999, but the agreement has been violated countless times since. Populations on all sides are still awaiting full implementation of that agreement so that people and goods will be able to circulate freely. Many families are still separated by this front line. The situation in the DRC has been described as one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. It is estimated that over 300,000 people have fled into neighbouring countries, more than 2 million are Internally Displaced People (IDPs) and approximately 16 million (33%) of the remaining population in the DRC are vulnerable. According to a UN OCHA report, government spending on health and education has dropped to less than 1% of government expenditure, leaving nearly a third of the children malnourished with 10% severely so. Only 40% of the children are able to attend school and approximately 30 % of the population has access to primary health care. OCHA also states that the eastern area of the DRC remains an area of prime concern where a lack of humanitarian access is still a major obstacle to effective assistance from the international community. DRC is ranked 152nd on the UNDP Human Development index of 174 countries: a fall of 12 places since 1992 which is quite shocking given the country’s considerable wealth of natural resources of diamonds, minerals, and timber. Since the assassination of the late President Kabila in January 2001 and the appointment of his son, Joseph, as president in April - there has been a dramatic shift in political developments with a more positive attitude towards the Lusaka Agreement and broader political dialogue. The government has also allowed the deployment of the UN Observation Force (MONUC), granted greater access to the humanitarian community, and adopted a series of bold economic measures. In spite of the above, many Congolese are hovering on the brink between life and death. ORIENTAL PROVINCE – EMERGENCY RELIEF I. REQUESTING ACT MEMBER ♣ The Lutheran World Federation Department for World Service, Rwanda Programme (LWF/DWS-Rwanda) along with the Church of Christ in the Congo (ECC – l’Iglise du Christ au Congo), Oriental Province and its member churches. II. IMPLEMENTING ACT MEMBER & PARTNER INFORMATION LWF/DWS – Rwanda is a programme of LWF/DWS Geneva. In October 2000, because of easier access, responsibility for Oriental Province of DRC and North and South Kivu were passed over to LWF/DWS Rwanda with LWF/DWS-Kenya continuing responsibility for overall situation in the DRC. D.R. of Congo – Relief & Rehab. for War Victims 4 AFDC-22 Appeal LWF/DWS has long operational experience in assisting people affected by emergencies, enabling them to pass through the stages of relief and rehabilitation. It has significant experience in all aspects of assisting people in need, regardless of race, gender, religious belief, nationality, ethnic origin, and political persuasion. Description of ACT member-implementing partners The ECC is the co-ordination body of protestant churches in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). ECC has 19 member churches in Oriental Province. ECC Oriental Province co-ordinates the humanitarian activities through its departments of Emergency Aid and Development. Through its member churches, it has implemented relief and rehabilitation activities in Oriental Province. ECC with its member churches has co-operated with LWF in the past in Kisangani in implementing the 1999 ACT appeal and currently in 2001 with AFDC 11. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between ECC of Oriental Province and LWF/DWS the beginning of 2001. III. DESCRIPTION OF THE EMERGENCY SITUATION (specific for Oriental Province) Background Oriental Province is the largest province in DRC, with an area of over 503,282 sq. km. and a population of approximately 8 million. The province is situated in the Northeast most part of the country and is divided into 5 districts (Kisangani, Low Uele, High Uele, Ituri and Tshopo).