The Dutch government on Friday pledged â,¬5-million ($6,4-million) in aid to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to improve health care and help people displaced by years of war return to their homes.
About 1 200 people — many of them children — die each day in the DRC and an estimated 1,6-million people were driven from their homes in violence linked to the country’s 1996 to 2002 war, Dutch Minister for Development Cooperation Agnes van Ardenne said in announcing the aid.
”People must be able to return to their villages,” the minister said. ”Mothers and children must be able to access good health care. People must be given the chance to work the land to feed themselves.”
DRC held general elections on July 30.
”The Congolese believe that their votes will bring a better future for their country. Now is the time to ensure we relieve their suffering,” van Ardenne said.
Early electoral returns from the DRC capital, Kinshasa, show heavy support for ex-rebel leader-turned-presidential candidate Jean-Pierre Bemba, cutting into the nationwide lead of President Joseph Kabila.
With 8,2-million of an estimated 20-million votes counted, Kabila has just over 50% of the vote and Bemba an estimated 17%, according to the country’s electoral commission.
The latest Dutch contribution to the reconstruction of DRC will be sent to the United Nations relief organisation and comes on top of â,¬7-million ($9-million) contributed earlier this year to the UN.
The government also has given Dutch charities working in the DRC â,¬3-million ($3,8-million) and pumped millions more into election security measures and projects aimed at disarming and rehabilitating former combatants.
Earlier this month, The Netherlands was ranked number one in a United States index measuring rich countries’ commitment to helping poor nations. — Sapa-AP