Buta, May 25th, 2026 (CPA).- More than 300 cases of malnutrition were recorded Monday in one area of the Buta health zone in Bas-Uélé province, north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, during the launch of an emergency food supplementation campaign targeting children aged 0 to 59 months.
“This offensive against hunger comes in a particularly alarming health context, marked by a rising curve of malnutrition cases. According to epidemiological data presented by medical authorities during the launch, more than 300 severe malnutrition cases have been formally notified in only one of the 18 health areas that make up the Buta health zone,” declared Emmanuel Odra, provincial coordinator of the National Program to Combat Malnutrition. This humanitarian action launched by the Group Agito Forever DRC targets children as well as pregnant and breastfeeding women suffering from severe malnutrition in the province.
Faced with this critical situation, the provincial Minister of the Interior presented an alarming assessment of the general nutritional situation across the province, blaming the precariousness of complementary feeding practices. “In Bas-Uélé province, complementary feeding practices remain insufficient, with only 35% of children aged 6 to 23 months receiving diversified nutrition, and barely 18.8% receiving acceptable feeding in terms of diversity and frequency,” deplored Jean-Pierre Maziambola. The provincial authority, on the same occasion, praised the leadership of Group Agito Forever DRC and paid tribute to Senator Carole Agito Amela for her involvement in this life-saving initiative. For his part, the group’s Director General, Gustave Ekambu, specified that this health deployment was a direct response to socio-health realities observed during the senator’s recent visits to her electoral constituency.
“Faced with the suffering of children and vulnerable families, it had become urgent to act quickly in order to provide a concrete response to this nutritional emergency,” he stressed. Presided over by the provincial Minister in charge of the Homeland, representing the provincial governor, in the presence of health authorities and community partners, the ceremony was held at Bomea Hospital Centre, where this campaign will provide medical and nutritional care through three sessions per week over a period of three months, from May 25th to August 25th, 2026. The strategy mainly relies on the distribution of locally produced high-protein porridge. This therapeutic solution is produced and processed by Group Agito Forever DRC using local agricultural products, notably maize, soybeans, sorghum and peanuts, thus ensuring an endogenous and sustainable response to this crisis.