United Nations Radio

The United Nations children's agency says that prospects for children are bleak in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

UNICEF's representative in eastern Congo, Julien Harnels, told reporters in Geneva on Monday that approximately half of the more than one million displaced people in the region are children.

Mr. Harnels said that in the North Kivu, the displacement caused by fighting between armed groups leads to many other problems, including the recruitment of children as fighters.

"There is many instances of rape. And then in the areas where they are displaced to, there is a risk of measles and cholera and obviously the lack of livelihood, the lack of money means that people don't have access to health. And then there is risk of malnutrition. So the situation from this displaced population is very very difficult."

The UNICEF representative stressed the need for peace in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo so that efforts can be focused on development.