Republic of the Congo

Beneficiaries receive relief supplies and vouchers in Brazzaville.

U.S. Embassy Brazzaville

On March 4, 2012, a fire sparked a series of explosions at a munitions depot in the Mpila neighborhood of Brazzaville, the capital city of the Republic of the Congo (RoC).  The explosions and resulting shockwaves destroyed nearly all buildings in Mpila and severely damaged the surrounding neighborhoods of Talangai and Ouenze, as well as several other areas in downtown Brazzaville.  As of March 6, the incident had resulted in at least 180 deaths and more than 1,300 injuries, according to the Government of the Republic of the Congo (GoRC).  The GoRC established three emergency health sites in Brazzaville and coordinated with international humanitarian agencies to establish additional sites. 

On March 5, 2012, U.S. Chargé d’Affaires, a.i., Margaret B. Diop declared a disaster due to the effects of the munitions explosions.  In response, USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) provided $100,000 through the U.S. Embassy in Brazzaville to the U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for the procurement and distribution of emergency relief items to people displaced by the explosion.  A USAID/OFDA senior humanitarian advisor based in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and the mission disaster relief officer for the DRC traveled to Brazzaville on March 5 to assist with humanitarian needs assessments.  The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Political and Military Affairs, Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement deployed a team to Brazzaville to determine safety concerns due to potential unexploded ordnance in the immediate and surrounding areas.

USG HUMANITARIAN FUNDING PROVIDED IN FY 2012

*(As of August  27, 2012)

East and Central Africa Region Fact Sheet #1 and map