World Vision calls for urgent assistance in DRC after landslide killed over 200

The Evangelical humanitarian organization World Vision is pleading for humanitarian assistance following a recent landslide in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which claimed over 200 lives and an estimated 70 children.  

In a statement published Tuesday, the United States-headquartered charitable organization reacted to the Jan. 28 landslide at the Rubaya artisanal mining site in Masisi Territory, North Kivu, where children work in the mines.

World Vision warns that the disaster has "had major consequences for communities already weakened by years of armed conflict, forced displacement, and chronic poverty." Amid years of conflict, a desire to control mineral-rich areas has fueled violence that has pushed countless families from their homes and has left children with "few options other than unsafe and poorly regulated mining or other hazardous work to survive.”

“This is a heartbreaking tragedy,” said Aline Napon, World Vision’s national director in DRC. “Children should be in school, not working underground in dangerous conditions that put their lives at risk. Yet the minerals extracted here help fuel the conflict that displaces families in the first place — and ultimately end up in global supply chains that generate profits far beyond Congo, while local communities remain trapped in poverty and danger.” 

David Munkley, World Vision’s zonal director in eastern DRC, said that the tragedy will have "long-lasting impacts" on children’s wellbeing and futures.

“Emergency assistance is utterly needed, but so is action to address the deeper drivers — conflict, weak regulation, and poverty — that continue to force children into the most dangerous forms of work," Munkley said. 

The landslide followed intense rainfall and the failure of several underground shafts, the charity notes. Many households in the African nation are without a reliable source of income, leading children to “heightened risks of exploitation, psychological trauma, family separation." The result is that many children are "pushed further into hazardous labor as families struggle to cope.”

The natural disaster exacerbates an already dire financial situation in DRC, which has faced ongoing conflict for over three decades since the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide. The conflicts in Kivu and Ituri have involved several different armed groups fighting for territorial control and mineral resources.  

In a Jan. 28 statement, the United Nations’ Office of the Humanitarian Coordinator in the Democratic Republic of the Congo launched an urgent appeal for $1.4 billion in humanitarian assistance designed to address the needs of 7.3 million people trapped in what the supranational agency describes as “one of the most protracted and most neglected humanitarian crises of our time.” 

“The combination of immense needs and limited resources forces us into extremely difficult, sometimes impossible, choices,” stated Bruno Lemarquis, humanitarian coordinator in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. “We call for renewed and strengthened financial commitment so that we can respond efficiently, help preserve the dignity of the Congolese people facing acute suffering, and prevent millions from being deprived of life-saving support.”

The U.N. appeal said underfunding has led to “reduced operational capacity” and the "closure of more than 1,000 nutrition centres." About 1.5 million people have lost “access to primary healthcare due to facility closures, shortages of vital medicines, and limited capacity to prevent and respond to epidemics.” 

“We cannot continue operating as before,” Lemarquis added. “Humanitarian assistance is indispensable because it saves lives, but is not the solution to humanitarian problems. It does not address the root causes of the crises. The best response is the one that sustainably reduces needs. The pursuit of peace must be at the centre of our efforts. Solutions are above all political. It is also essential to move beyond a constant reactive mode and to establish a true culture of anticipation and prevention, both in terms of conflict and disaster risk.”