Democratic Republic
of the Congo
ABOUT USAID-CONGO
Who We Are
Contact Us
PROGRAMS
Program Overview
Health
Democracy
Environment
Transition Initiatives
Activities Map
Budget
Program Results
OUR PARTNERS
Partnership
Partner Contacts
LIFE IN THE CONGO
Vital Statistics
Images
Congo Connections
FORUM
Information Exchange
Sharing Experiences
USAID Security and Privacy Statement
|
Special event
Feature Story |
|
Welcome to the Web site of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. |
We created this Web site to tell you what we are doing in the Congo and why, and to encourage your interest, support and collaboration.
USAID is an agency of the United States Government
It is responsible for providing development assistance to other countries. Through its professional staff in the Congo and Washington D.C., USAID-Congo provides financial and technical assistance to organizations and institutions working to solve the Congo's critical development problems. USAID-Congo works in close collaboration with the U.S. Embassy and its office of Public Diplomacy.
The Congo is a globally significant country
The third largest country in Africa, the Congo is critically important for health, political, and environmental reasons. Many years of mismanagement and civil war have ravaged the country — and it is now facing adifficult reconstruction. These problems are on a massive scale, and will require world-wide involvement in the Congo's recovery.
Health
The country's health care system has been badly damaged, and the Congolese people now face epidemics of HIV/AIDS and polio that, if not contained, will spread beyond the Congo's borders. The war also destroyed entire communities, leaving many people impoverished, homeless and hungry. The country is in need of the world's humanitarian assistance to cope with these problems.
Politics
The Congo is strategically located in the heart of Africa, bordering nine other countries. A total of six African nations and five rebel factions were involved in its recent civil war. Establishing stability in the Congo is essential to promoting peace throughout the region. USAID is committed to supporting democracy in the Congo.
Environment
The Congo's vast rainforest houses a treasury of natural resources that the world is in danger of losing. The second-largest expanse of tropical rainforest in the world is home to many species on the verge of extinction, including the mountain gorilla, the bonobo and the okapi.
The Congo's 227 million hectares contain minerals, water (including hydropower) and forest resources that can fuel the country's development — as well as the whole African continent.
The Congo's greatest resource is its people — courageous, resilient and creative. Having persevered through the troubles of the recent past, they are diligently working to rebuild their country.
Take a few minutes to navigate through these pages
You will find:
 |
Up-to-date information on USAID and its partners in the Congo |
|
Feature stories about the Congo's development process |
|
Great links and information sources on the Congo, USAID and its partners |
|
Unforgettable images of Congolese communities and the reconstruction process, Congo's culture, and natural beauty |
Our Website has a unique history
The Web site itself — and the design process — is an integral part of USAID-Congo's development program. Creating this Web site was a true team effort. USAID staff and Web site designers worked together over several weeks in August/September 1999 in Burlington, Vermont, USA. The site is maintained and updated in Kinshasa, Congo, by USAID staff, who have been trained in Web site development and will share their knowledge within the Congo.
We are interactive
We have built into this Web site a forum for
Join us!
|
Special event
US sends emergency aid for Ituri IDPs Kinshasa, 13 June, 2003 (IRIN) The US government has sent a consignment of emergency supplies to help 55,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) from Bunia and surrounding areas, officials at the US embassy in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), said on Thursday. The consignment, organised by USAID, represents the first part of a 165-mt emergency aid delivery. It included plastic sheeting, blankets, jerry cans, water purification equipment and medical kits, the officials said. The supplies, which arrived in Goma on Sunday, would be distributed through the UN Children's Fund and its partner NGOs, they said. The estimated 55,000 IDPs fled south when fighting between Hema and Lendu militias erupted at the beginning of May in and around Bunia, the capital of Ituri District. The IDPs are now camped in a zone around the town of Beni, in North Kivu Province. Meanwhile, fighting continued Thursday around the town of Lubero, 70 km south of Beni. The UN Mission in the DRC, MONUC, appealed to the belligerents - the Rassemblement Congolais pour la Democratie-Goma and the RCD-Kisangani-Mouvement de Libertaion to disengage and withdraw their forces from the area. The appeal came as the government and the two movements were due to meet Thursday in Bujumbura, Burundi, under the mediation of the UN Secretary-General's special representative, Amos Namanga Ngongi, to try and end the fighting. "We would like to withdraw our soldiers but those who have helped people to attack us, government troops and the Interhamwe must first draw back," Adolphe Onusumba, the RCD-Goma president, told IRIN. The Interahamwe are Rwandan Hutu militiamen who fled to the DRC after the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. DRC Defence Minister Irung Awan told IRIN there were no government troops around Lubero. "There is no reason for us to have troops there," he said. "It is the RCD-K-ML that has forces there to try arrest a difficult situation brought about by RCD-Goma and Rwanda that is looking to occupy this portion of Congolese territory." Rwandan army spokesman Maj Jill Rutaremara has denied involvement in the fighting saying, "Rwanda has not had any troops in the Democratic Republic of Congo since last year." |
Feature story
Conflict in DRC deadliest since World War II, says the IRC (International Rescue Commitee) The four and half year war in the Democratic Republic of Congo has taken more lives than any other since World War II and is the deadliest recorded conflict in African history. A mortality study, released today by the International Rescue Committee, estimates that since the war erupted in 1998, some 3.3 million people have died in excess of what is normally expected during this time. "This is a humanitarian catastrophe of horrid and shocking proportions," says George Rupp, president of the IRC. "The worst mortality projections in the event of a lengthy war in Iraq, and the death toll from all the recent wars in the Balkans don't even come close. Still, the crisis has received scant attention from international donors and the media." The latest survey was conducted in late 2002. Improved access and security enabled the IRC to measure mortality among 9.3 million people in 10 districts in the war-decimated east, and 31.2 million in 10 western districts, greatly expanding two previous IRC studies in eastern provinces conducted in 2000 and 2001. According to the IRC's findings, an estimated 30,000 people die every month in this conflict. The vast majority of deaths, some 85 percent, are from easily treatable diseases and malnutrition, linked to mass displacement and the collapse of much of the country's health system and economy. With poor or no access to basic health care, the smallest children die at disproportionately high rates. Double-click here for the complete report on the IRC's web site.
|
|||
Top
|
|
Last updated June 15, 2003 |