Congo Boycotts Pledging Conference, Says Crisis Exaggerated

Congo on Friday took the extraordinary step of boycotting an global conference that reaped hundreds of millions of dollars to help its people, saying the Central African country's humanitarian crisis has been exaggerated.

In a brief video message, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the country faces "one of the world's largest humanitarian crises", and that "the single biggest obstacle is the lack of funding".

After decades of neglect, a series of violent clashes in the DRC this year has nearly doubled the number of people in need of assistance, according to aid organisations, with eight million now in danger of malnutrition.

Congo's government has insisted the conference hurts the country's image and has downplayed the extent of the widespread hunger and displacement. The U.N. says $209 million has are available towards that objective to this point this yr.

Its ambassador to the U.N.in New York, Ignace Gata Mavita, told the Security Council last month that the U.N.'s crisis level for his country was "excessive" and "exaggerated".

U.N. and European Union officers are internet hosting the primary high-level intergovernmental pledge drive to drum up extra humanitarian assist for Congo, however the Central African nation's authorities is boycotting it.