Goma, 8 February 2013 – "We have witnessed the difficult conditions under which displaced persons (IDPs) live in camps here. They face so many challenges", said Liliane Ploumen the Dutch Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade last Tuesday, while visiting the Mugunga 3 IDP camp in the provincial capital of the Nord Kivu province.

According to the camp manager, the Mugunga 3, which is just about 10 km west of Goma, is everything but a comfortable shelter for the six thousand households who presently live there either in tents provided by the United Nations High Commissioner for refugees (UNHCR) or in makeshift homes. The less fortunate sleep in the open air. Food distribution is sporadic and overcrowding is paving the way for all kinds of diseases. Malnutrition among children is rampant and the medical personnel working in the camp think that even the slightest improvement in nutrition would be a good start for the thousands of displaced persons.

Faced with this gloomy picture, Mrs. Ploumen acknowledged that humanitarian workers have a daunting task. "One of the major challenges is the fact that since there is no firewood or charcoal in the camps, women have to go fetching outside the camp where they are likely to be raped. I believe that together we should explore possible solutions to avert this", she said to the press just outside the camp.

Though a short visit, it enabled the Dutch Minister to see firsthand the harsh realities of the life of displaced persons. There is, therefore, no doubt that she will intensify advocacy work to solicit more donor support. After Goma, Mrs. Ploumen went to Kigali in Rwanda, then Burundi.

The visit of the Dutch Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade was part of an evaluation mission on the security and humanitarian situation in the sub-region.

Alexandre Essome/ MONUSCO