The Diplomat
Spain will provide 200,000 euros to assist people affected by the eruption of Mount Nyiragongo, which took place on May 22 in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The aid will come through a contribution from the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) to the international emergency appeal issued by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) for this humanitarian crisis.
The volcano erupted on May 22 and immediately affected nearly 290,000 people. The volcano erupted on May 22 and immediately affected nearly 290,000 people, including 32 deaths and 30,000 displaced. Five days later, on May 27, the Congolese government ordered the evacuation of between 400,000 and 500,000 people, two-thirds of the population of Goma, capital of North Kivu province, located 20 kilometers from the volcano. Many of these people crossed the nearby border with Rwanda or moved to Bukavu, capital of South Kivu and other areas of the country.
In response to this situation, the IFRC launched an international emergency appeal on May 31 for 11.6 million Swiss francs – some 10.6 million euros – to provide humanitarian assistance and early recovery support to some 80,000 people (displaced persons and host communities) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (70,000 people) and Rwanda (10,000 people) for a period of twelve months. The IFRC will provide this assistance with the support of the Red Cross of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Rwanda National Red Cross Society.
Humanitarian operations in eastern DRC have been commonplace in recent years in a context of conflict compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, endemic diseases such as cholera, Ebola outbreaks and extreme poverty.
