UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) on Monday urged international community to put the refugee crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) high on the agenda as it was degenerating into humanitarian crisis.
UNHCR Country Representative in Zambia Pierrine Aylara called for more assistance to Zambia and other countries hosting DRC asylum seekers.
Countries like Zambia require urgent assistance due to the increasing numbers of people being received on a daily basis, Aylara told newsmen in Nchelenge, a district in Luapula province, during a visit to Kenani Transit Center for asylum seekers.
She thanked the Zambian government for accommodating the asylum seekers and some cooperating partners for providing assistance.
“We would like to thank the government for the generosity because it is not easy to look after such a huge number of people but still more needs to be done to make them feel at home,’’ Aylara said.
Abdon Mawere, commissioner for refugees in Zambia’s Ministry of Home Affairs, said the transit center is receiving between 50 and 100 asylum seekers a day and that 5,890 people are now accommodated 60 per cent of them aged from 18 years and below.
“It is now urgent that we quickly move these people so that we provide them with all the basic needs required,’’ he said.
At the center, some asylum seekers complained of inadequate food supply.
“They give us small rations. The food is not enough,’’ Albert Kalengo, one of the asylum seekers said, adding that some people only have one meal a day.
However, Disaster Management Manager of the Zambia Red Cross Society Wisford Mudenda denied that the asylum seekers are not getting enough food.
“Food has been distributed in line with World Food Program (WFP) procedures and standards,’’ he said.
Mudenda said the camp has been divided into sections for easy distribution of food.
“Because some of them do not have pots, we decided to come up with this program in order to ensure that they are catered for,’’ he said.
Mudenda, however, attributed some of the problems regarding the food situation to some section leaders who sell food supplies to nearby local communities. (Xinhua/NAN)
