Hunger continues to remain at “alarming levels” in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where 28.8 million people are experiencing acute food insecurity, the World Food Program (WFP) said Thursday.

Citing new findings from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) covering Sept. 21 to Nov. 2, the WFP said in a statement that the number of people affected could surpass 30 million between January and June 2027.

It also showed that some 3.6 million people facing food insecurity are in "emergency" conditions.

“Behind these numbers are human lives, including women, displaced people and children,” Alain Akpadji, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Resident Representative in the DRC, warned at a workshop in the capital Kinshasa, where the data was presented.

The eastern provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri remain the hardest hit areas.

Akpadji said in many of the affected regions, despite having particularly fertile land and high agricultural potential, food insecurity is closely linked to persistent conflict and violence, which limit access to land, disrupt agricultural production, markets and people's livelihoods.

An official from Congo’s Agriculture Ministry, Benjamin Toirambe, said the government would make efforts to provide relevant ministries with substantial resources to improve the food situation in local communities. (AA)