The cost of some essential food items has more than doubled in Goma, the main city in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that was captured by M23 rebels last week, according to locals and an NGO.
As a result of the soaring costs and worsening displacement crisis, basic nutrition is out of reach for many, and hundreds of thousands of people in the city could be pushed into severe hunger, according to anti-poverty NGO, ActionAid.
Collecting data from three Goma markets – Virunga, Lenine and Kituku – the organisation’s staff reported price hikes on some food items, including flour, beans and oil, of between 18 and 160 percent from January 25 to January 31
On the night of January 26, Rwanda-backed fighters from the March 23 Movement (M23) stormed into Goma, declaring it under their control. There was sporadic fighting between the rebels and Congolese forces in the days that followed, with electricity, water and internet services cut, and businesses shut.
More than a week later, power has largely been restored and food products are available in the city, locals in Goma told Al Jazeera. But they also confirmed that the prices of several items had doubled or even tripled since the takeover.
“I’m asking the new authorities to do everything they can to stabilise the situation here,” Julienne Anifa, a mother of seven shopping at the Alanine Market in Goma, told Al Jazeera over the weekend. “We buy various products at a high price. And this is affecting us economically at this time of war.”
An ActionAid community volunteer in Goma, speaking anonymously to protect his safety, said: “Everything has become expensive. We were paying $20 for a bucket of rice, and now it’s at least $23. The big drinking water bottles have also doubled in price from $1 to $2.”
“During the fighting, the prices doubled – things you could buy for $2 were suddenly costing $6 because food wasn’t getting in. Now prices have dropped a bit, but they are still too high for most people.”
ActionAid warned on Monday that soaring costs are forcing families to go without meals, putting hundreds of thousands at risk of malnutrition.
“We have no income – people can’t go to work because of the conflict, so getting money is difficult. Everyone is broke,” said ActionAid’s community volunteer.
“Families who were living off $5 a day are now surviving on $2. That means if you were eating three times a day, now you can only eat once.”
‘Aid efforts are being blocked’
More than 90 percent of Goma’s food supplies come from surrounding regions, ActionAid said, but violence has cut off road access, leading to the shortages and price hikes.
The deepening hunger crisis could have “catastrophic impacts on women and girls” and put them at greater risk of exploitation and abuse, the NGO said.
Before the recent escalation, around a quarter of the country’s 25.5 million people were already in “crisis” and “emergency” levels of food security, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification.
Over the next five months, 4.5 million children under the age of five – as well as 3.7 million pregnant and breastfeeding women – could face acute malnutrition, according to the World Food Programme (WFP).
The WFP has also warned about the further displacement of “hundreds of thousands of people” in camps in eastern DRC.
Camps hosting displaced people in Goma were already reliant on humanitarian aid before the January 26 escalation. But the fighting interrupted the essential work of aid agencies, leaving tens of thousands without support.
“We urgently need to get aid in – and fast. But right now, aid efforts are being blocked,” said Yakubu Mohammed Saani, ActionAid’s DRC country director. “We call on all parties to the conflict to allow safe, unhindered access for humanitarian organisations.”
Late on Monday, M23 declared a ceasefire, saying the rebels would pause their advance across eastern DRC “for humanitarian reasons”.
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