Groups Accuse United Nations of Manipulating Data Ahead of Congo Polls

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Aid agencies working in the Democratic Republic of Congo have accused the United Nations of manipulating data ahead of elections to give an overly positive impression of the situation in a country beset by conflict and disease.

They say new figures from the U.N. humanitarian agency that show a large drop in the number of displaced people are misleading, accusing it of bowing to government pressure before a presidential election scheduled for December 23.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Congo said it did not manipulate data and that it is in ongoing discussions with agencies on the issue.

The government also rejected the accusation, saying aid agencies deliberately exaggerated crises to increase funding.

The vast country is battling an Ebola outbreak as well as multiple armed conflicts that have been aggravated by President Joseph Kabila's refusal to step down at the end of his elected mandate in 2016.

Last year the U.N. said there were 4.5 million internally displaced people — forced to flee their homes and unable to return — in the Congo. But in a statement last month it estimated just 1.37 million would need assistance in 2019.

It also put the overall number of people in need at 12.8 million, a slight decrease from last year, although a separate, international food security tracking system has estimated the number suffering from acute hunger alone at 13.1 million, up from 7.7 million last year.

"Overall humanitarian needs have risen during 2018 rather than decreased," a group representing about 45 humanitarian agencies said in a letter to the U.N. seen by the Thomson Reuters Foundation.