THE UN’S Children’s agency, Unicef estimates that 260,000 children in Congo’s Kasai region are suffering from severe acute malnutrition and are in need of lifesaving treatment.
The return of hundreds of thousands of Congolese refugees from Angola is also putting pressure on health centers, schools and other basic services in Kasai.
The conflict in the previously peaceful Kasai region was one of a series of deadly flare-ups to hit Congo around the time long-serving former President Joseph Kabila refused to leave power when his mandate expired at the end of 2016.
As a result of insecurity communities have continued to face displacements, child rights abuses and high levels of malnutrition among children.
Even though pockets of insecurity remain today, thousands of families who had fled into the bush have now returned to their communities.
Unicef and its partners have treated about 200,000 severely malnourished children in the Kasai region in the last two years.
