05/07/2017 (Agence Europe) – On Wednesday 5 July, the European Commission announced the mobilisation of an additional €5 million in humanitarian aid to respond to the urgent needs of the population in distress in eight provinces of Kasai, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where the situation has grown considerably worse in recent months. 8.6 million people are in desperate need of aid, including at least 1.3 million displaced persons – mainly women and children. This money, taken from the budget of the Commission's humanitarian aid service (ECHO), will be used to help around 200,000 displaced persons. It will pay for their protection, access to drinking water and basic sanitation, shelter, food and emergency healthcare. It will also help to support the logistics capacity of ECHO's partner organisations delivering assistance on the ground. (AN)