A United Nations team travelled to Kimoka, in North Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), on Friday. The visit to the area, which is controlled by M23 rebels, focused on the situation of people returning to conflict-affected communities, as the country also faces its worst Ebola outbreak.
The envoy met women working in the fields, inspected their harvests and heard about the support they need from the United Nations.
Damien Mama, coordinator of United Nations humanitarian activities in the Democratic Republic of Congo, said the women had made clear they needed livestock, as well as farmland, to strengthen their resilience and livelihoods.
Humanitarian agencies say that, by February 4, 2025, around 30,384 people, or 5,064 households, had returned to the Kimoka and Saké areas, near Goma, the main city in North Kivu.
The United Nations says more than 1,400 people, mostly women returning from camps for internally displaced people, are benefiting from farming support and socioeconomic reintegration projects in villages across Masisi territory.
Sifa Asifiwe is one of those beneficiaries. She received funding from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, known as the FAO.
Asifiwe said: “Amid that hardship, our brothers from the FAO came and welcomed us.”
Displaced people say health conditions, especially among children, have also improved significantly, thanks to better nutrition from the women’s crops.
Around 95,000 displaced people remain near Goma because of violence by armed groups, according to UN.
Meanwhile, figures released this week by Congolese authorities show that Ebola has killed 3,398 deaths and 7,022 cases.