Food fairs in South- Kivu, DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo)

Food fairs in South- Kivu, DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo)

In 2022, the HEKS/EPER mission in the DRC rehabilitated the Point Zéro – Mikenge – Kipupu axis in the Itombwe Health Zone, in the Mwenga territory.  In order to facilitate access between communities and also to open access roads for humanitarian actors, this activity has benefited the population from its implementation and through the “Cash for work” program, the rehabilitation works have been carried out by the beneficiaries of the communities around the axis. As the Hauts Plateaux remains isolated and feared because of the volatile security situation, merchants remain extremely reluctant to commercialize their goods in the area.  

As part of the project funded by ECHO including activities in the WASH, MPCA and DRR sectors, HEKS/EPER organized at the end of December 2022 food fairs to attract more merchants and diversify the food available along the axis to better answer to the population’s most urgent needs. During the organization of this activity, vulnerability assessments were conducted in Kipupu, Mikenge-Point Zero and Abala-Lusenda axes which included also criteria on people’s access and intake of food. As a result 3.000 vulnerable households in the Fizi and Mwenga territories were selected to benefit from the food fairs in South Kivu. The food fair has equally enabled a large number of merchants to grow and boost their activity, thus supporting the exchange in the region. 

Vouchers with a value of 70 USD have been distributed to vulnerable conflict-affected households which were then exchanged for essential food items during food fairs. 

This activity was financed by ECHO (European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations).