The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is truly vast. At 2,345,408 km2, it is larger than the combined areas of Spain, France, Germany, Sweden, and Norway. North Kivu Province in the DRC makes up an area of 59, 483 km2 and is a region of dense rainforest, peppered with small communities. Today, the volatile security situation in the DRC causes the continuous movement of Internally Displaced People (IDPs) in both North and South Kivu Provinces; after the conflict that led to the rebel occupation of Goma (the largest town in North Kivu) last November, over 100,000 civilians sought refuge in displaced people's camps around the town.
But accessing these displaced camps is not easy, especially as the communities continually move as a result of the on-going conflict. The terrain of North Kivu is extremely difficult to build on – it is made up of laterite soil which, with the combination of its high porosity and tropical climate, creates treacherously muddy roads. The poor road conditions, as well as the lack of transport infrastructure and storage capacity, constantly impede the attempts of the humanitarian community to deliver relief items to those in need.
During the month of March, in North Kivu Province, the Logistics Cluster facilitated, via WFP Service Provision, the road transportation of 101.7 mt of food on behalf of Mercy Corps as well as 45.2 mt of NFIs on behalf of UNOPS and FAO. The WFP fleet of off-road (tout terrain) vehicles can access isolated areas that commercial carriers cannot reach; these trucks are the only means that the humanitarian community possess of accessing these remote communities, as there are no commercial operators with trucks of this kind which can endure the gruelling journeys on these roads. This humanitarian cargo was transported from Goma to Walikale, Rutshuru, Lushebere and Mpati. The direct route from Goma to Walikale is a mere 300km, yet due to the unpredictable security situation and the hazardous road conditions, the truck fleet must drive an alternative route which quadruples their journey length to 1200km. This journey can take anywhere between 1-4 weeks.
The Logistics Cluster, through their invaluable partnership with WFP Service Provision, is able to offer continued support to the humanitarian community in their efforts to provide relief assistance to the displaced communities in South Kivu Province.