06/28/2006

According to UNICEF, half a million children under five die each year in DRC making the country one of the top three deadliest places in the world for children to be born. This young girl is living in a nutrition center in Mitwaba, central Katanga. Displaced Congolese living in Katanga have high rates of malnutrition and their death rates exceed emergency levels of two per 10,000 persons per day at the beginning at 2006. An estimated 109 malnourished children live in this nutrition center. While the World Food Program and UNICEF provide fortified protein biscuits and other dietary needs, children, like this girl, still struggle to live. An official told Refugees International that this nutrition center is not receiving sufficient amounts of food.