Two million children in Congo at risk of starvation, U.N. warns

[March 09, 2018]    GENEVA (Reuters) - More than 2 million children in the Democratic Republic of Congo are estimated to be at risk of dying from severe acute malnutrition if they do not get the aid they need, the United Nations warned on Friday.

Children from the Bantu and Pygmy communities attend a class at a school in Muhuya, in southeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, November 25, 2015. Picture taken November 25, 2015. REUTERS/Habibou Bangre

U.N. humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock will meet donors next week in the country where conditions in many areas are worsening, U.N. spokesman Jens Laerke told a Geneva briefing.

"We have a great responsibility in the DRC...now is the time to stay the course," Laerke said.

The 2 million children at risk of starvation include some 300,000 children in the Kasai region, Bettina Luescher of the U.N.'s World Food Programme (WFP) said.

(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay, editing by Tom Miles)

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