Democratic Republic of the Congo - IOM has completed a four-day operation to provide some 6,500 vulnerable displaced households with vital non-food assistance.

The Non Food Items (NFI) distributed at the spontaneous Bulengo settlement included plastic sheeting, sleeping mats, blankets, soap, kitchen sets, feminine hygiene kits, 20 litre jerry cans, clothing and water basins.   

“Although we’re happy to have provided some relief to thousands of vulnerable displaced families, much more needs to be done,” says IOM Chief of Mission Laurent de Boeck. “We now need to address the root causes of displacement and strengthen the resilience of communities to sustain themselves through these volatile times.”  

Eighteen IOM staff worked from dawn to dusk to provide logistical and coordination support to ensure that as many residents of Bulengo site receive their provision before December 24th.

The operation at Bulengo site was part of a larger campaign coordinated by UNICEF’s Rapid Response to Movements of Populations (RRMP) mechanism. It involved more than 200 staff from various organizations including IOM, UNHCR, UNOPS, NRC, Solidarités, Caritas, Care international, PU-AMI, Concern Worldwide, Save the Children, AVSI, IRC, Handicap International, AIDES, Oxfam GB and Benenfance Congo. The Congolese National Police (PNC) and MONUSCO also took part in the relief effort.

In total more than 23,000 displaced families living in Bulengo, Mugunga I, Nzulo and Lac Vert Spontaneous Sites and Mugunga III camp benefited from this operation.   

Known for its instability, Bulengo is one of the largest known spontaneous sites in the Kivus, where an estimated 7,000 families (35,000 people) have been living in precarious conditions for the past two months.

The distribution was made possible with support from a variety of donors including the UK Department for International Development (DFID), Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department of the European Commission (ECHO), the United States Agency for International Development’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), the CERF and Pooled Fund Common Humanitarian Funds and the governments of Canada, Japan, South Korea, and Sweden.

Over the next three months, IOM aims to provide assistance and coordination to spontaneous sites through its emergency programme and with the support of its partners in North Kivu.

IOM has appealed for an additional USD 7 million to closely monitor affected communities, provide information management services, strengthen humanitarian response in displacement sites and strengthen the resilience of communities affected by population movements in the Kivus and Katanga Province.

For further information, please contact

Laurent de Boeck
IOM Kinshasa
Tel: + 243 82 11 33 240
Email: Ldeboeck@iom.int