UN agency calls for urgent aid as conflict drives refugees from DR Congo

According to the World Food Programme, funding is urgently needed to assist a wave of refugees attempting to reach Burundi from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Since Rwanda-backed armed group M23 launched an offensive in January and seizes large swathes of territory in eastern DRC, 70, 000 people have fled across the border to neighbor Burundi, according to the UN agency on Monday.

According to a statement from the United Nations agency, the total number of Burundis who are dependent on WFP food aid has increased to 120 000.

According to the WFP, which reduced rations given to refugees by 50% this month, 120, 000 refugees’ operations will only be supported by current funding through June. It added that to continue supporting until the end of the year, it needs an additional $ 19.8 million in funding.

“Refugees are arriving every day, some carrying loads of clothes in suitcases and hastily packed bags,” according to Dragica Pajevic, WFP’s deputy regional director for eastern Africa.

It’s simply not enough, according to the statement from the organization. Our resources are being forced to change and reduce our rations because ours are stretched beyond capacity, Pajevic continued.

Refugees who are housed in temporary transit camps, churches, and sports stadiums are fed by WFP.

One of the largest displacement crises in the world has resulted from the conflict in the DRC, which has erupted into violence since the beginning of 2025.

In recent months, at least 7, 000 people have died and many more have been injured, causing millions of people to flee.

Before capturing Bukavu, South Kivu’s capital, in January, M23 seized control of Goma, the capital of the mineral-rich North Kivu province. Since then, the Rwanda-backed force has shifted westward.

The WFP has stated that it will have to completely suspend food assistance in Burundi by July at the latest, despite its warning that the ongoing hostility and inertia will increase refugee numbers even further, despite the fact that it will have to do so without additional funding.

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has been subject to funding restrictions in part due to its budgetary constraints. Following a six-week review, the Donald Trump administration announced on March 10 that 83 percent of all USAID programs had been canceled.

Humanitarian workers from the Global South have been concerned about funding gaps because the withdrawal of USAID support threatens decades of progress against tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, and ebola.