The first of three aircrafts, as part of the EU’s humanitarian airlift to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that will carry 170 humanitarian workers from 41 humanitarian agencies and 40 tons of basic humanitarian supplies, to help the country meet their endemic requirements and now even the coronavirus pandemic, left from Brussels last night, Sunday 7th June. Janez Lenarčič, European Commissioner for Crisis Management, Philippe Goffin, Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Defence, and Jean-Yves Le Drian, French Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs, who cooperated in the mission, climbed on the plane too. Congo is still struggling to stop the eleventh Ebola epidemic, that, according to WHO figures, has infected approximately 3,500 people and killed 2,280, with a 66% death rate, and is now also challenged by Covid-19, which – also according to the WHO – has infected over 4 thousand people so far. In Kinshasa, the European leaders will meet president Félix Tshisekedi and the leaders of humanitarian and civilian organisations in the capital and in Goma. “Overcoming coronavirus in the long term means joining forces, especially with the African countries that are our mean partners”, Lenarcic explained. “Working in a supportive climate is in our common interest”. Overall, the EU’s humanitarian funds for the most vulnerable people in the DRC amount to 40.83 million euros in this 2020.
