French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Thursday, October 30, more than €1.5 billion in international aid for the Great Lakes region, as part of the United Nations’ humanitarian response plan.
“Today, together, we have taken a major step forward, and I am proud to announce that you have collectively mobilized more than one and a half billion euros in assistance for the most vulnerable populations,” Macron declared at the closing of an international conference in Paris. He specified that the support will include, among other things, medicines and food. Around sixty countries and organizations were represented at the gathering.
Macron also announced the forthcoming reopening of Goma airport, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), to humanitarian flights “in the coming weeks,” as well as the establishment of secured humanitarian corridors for the delivery of aid.
A Humanitarian Crisis Among the World’s Most Severe
The conference, co-organized by France and Togo, took place as the humanitarian crisis in the DRC—one of the most severe globally—continues to worsen.
“We cannot remain silent spectators to the tragedy unfolding in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo,” Macron emphasized, calling the numbers “unbearable”: millions of people displaced, nearly 28 million facing food insecurity, a woman raped every four minutes, and a child every thirty minutes.
“These figures are not statistics,” he added. “They are the tears of a wounded humanity—cries that no one can ignore.”
He condemned the obstruction of aid delivery in conflict zones: “Humanitarian routes are sometimes controlled, convoys taxed, and resources diverted.” Aid, he insisted, “must provide relief without fostering dependency, stabilize without freezing power dynamics.” To achieve this, Macron called for stronger African oversight to safeguard both the aid and those who deliver it.
He further denounced informal mining, illicit resource trading, and smuggling, which “continue to fuel armed groups and impoverish communities.”
“We must ensure traceability for every resource,” he urged.
M&B with Le Monde
