The US said on Wednesday it would provide nearly $414 million in humanitarian assistance for the Democratic Republic of Congo, where more than 25 million people need such aid, nearly a quarter of the country's population.

US Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture, Jeffrey Prescott, told Reuters a significant amount of that money would go to United Nations agencies and aid groups providing urgent food assistance, healthcare and nutrition support, shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene.

"This funding also includes direct support (of) agricultural commodities from American farmers," said Prescott, who will formally announce the aid in Kinshasa on Wednesday with US Ambassador to the DRC Lucy Tamlyn.

It takes total US funding for DRC since October to $838 million, said Prescott.

Congo's army has been battling M23 insurgents since 2022, and renewed fighting in the country's east has driven more than 1.7 million people from their homes, taking the total number of Congolese displaced by multiple conflicts to a record 7.2 million, according to UN estimates.