According to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), 25.6 million people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, DR Congo) continue to face crisis or emergency levels of food insecurity. In a joint statement on Thursday, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned that armed violence, ongoing conflict and soaring food prices are fueling acute food insecurity among displaced people and returnees.
Despite high levels of hunger, the DRC has fertile land, abundant water resources and the inherent capacity to achieve self-sufficiency in food production. However, a number of factors, including the escalating conflict in eastern DRC, the effects of climate change such as flooding, epidemics, and a lack of investment in rural development, are preventing the country from achieving food sufficiency.
"The IPC figures speak for themselves. We need to take action and ensure that livelihood support is provided at the appropriate level," said FAO representative Aristide Ongone Obame.
“FAO is committed to strengthening the resilience of households facing food insecurity through targeted interventions that address the impacts of climate change in the agriculture, fisheries, and livestock sectors.”
According to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET), between 14 and 15 million people across the DRC are likely to require food assistance between October and December this year, mainly due to the combined effects of worsening conflict, seasonal flooding and economic instability.
While overall food insecurity in the DRC remains stagnant, the situation in the eastern provinces of Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu has worsened. Driven by conflict and persistent displacement, 6.2 million people are expected to face crisis or emergency levels of hunger, up from 5.4 million in mid-2024.
Due to severe flooding, Tanganyika – also in the east - is now the most food insecure province in the DRC. As of October 31, at least 1 million people across the country were gravely affected by flooding.
The conflict in eastern DRC has disrupted vital agricultural production and the growth of essential infrastructure. The security situation remains alarming, with armed groups intensifying the conflict and exacerbating the humanitarian situation. Attacks on civilians have devastating consequences, including massive new displacements.
Today, the DRC has one of the largest numbers of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the world, with more than 7.3 million people scattered throughout the country, most of them in the eastern provinces. More than 1.1 million refugees have sought safety in neighboring countries.
The UN agencies say this is a crisis fueled by shifting armed group dynamics and resource struggles, exacerbated by deep-rooted geopolitical tensions. As a result, more than 6.5 million people are now displaced from their homes in the three eastern provinces of Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu.
The conflict in the DRC has come at a high cost. According to the United Nations, the country is facing a twin humanitarian crisis - an internal displacement crisis and a food crisis. Nearly 4.5 million children under the age of five are acutely malnourished, with approximately 1.4 million children suffering from severe acute malnutrition (SAM).
“In 2025 we need to work more on resilience and strengthening the food systems in the DRC to help move families out of hunger,” said Peter Musoko, WFP Country Director in the DRC.
‘’In such a fragile context, the cost of inaction is truly unthinkable. Together, we need to work with the government and the humanitarian community to increase resources for this neglected crisis.’’
Despite needs outpacing available resources, WFP says it reached 1.95 million people in October alone. As humanitarian needs continue to grow, the UN agency faces a critical funding gap of US$350 million over the next six months to provide essential food and nutrition assistance to the most vulnerable people.
In 2024, FAO needs US$233.9 million for its assistance in the DRC. As of the end of September, FAO had assisted 3.0 million people out of a planned 3.6 million and needs more funding to close the current gap.
The protracted humanitarian crisis in the DRC has been largely neglected by donors, media and political leaders. Additional resources are urgently needed to address the humanitarian needs in the country. In its 2024 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP), the United Nations appealed for $2.6 billion, but only 48 percent of this amount has been received to date.
Children are particularly affected by armed violence in the eastern provinces. In a related development on Thursday, the United Nations warned that children in DR Congo remain deeply vulnerable to conflict and are facing an increase in grave human rights violations.
According to the UN Secretary-General's latest report on children and armed conflict in the DRC, which covers the period from April 2022 to March 2024, there has been an 8 percent uptick in verified violations compared to the previous period, with recruitment and use, abduction, and killing and maiming of children being the most prevalent violations.
“I am appalled by the sharp increase in the killing and maiming of children owing to military operations, clashes between parties, attacks on civilian communities and in the context of intercommunal violence, all of which take a heavy toll on children,” Virginia Gamba, the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, said on Thursday.
“I appeal to all parties to refrain from targeting children, and civilians in general, and to take all necessary measures to minimize the effect of their activities on civilians, including by refraining from the use of explosive weapons in populated areas.”
Gamba warned that this increase is particularly worrying in the context of the drawdown of the UN peacekeeping mission (MONUSCO) in some areas of the country, and underscores the importance of ensuring sufficient resources to continue child protection efforts.
The DRC maintained its status as one of the most dangerous places in the world for children, with 8,208 grave violations verified against 6,196 children during the reporting period. Armed groups were responsible for 98 percent of these violations, with North and South Kivu provinces remaining the epicenters of violence.
Recruitment and use remained the most common violation, with 4,006 children forcibly recruited into the ranks of armed groups, often through abduction. Abductions totaled 2,028, a significant increase from the previous period, with children often subjected to further violations, including sexual violence or participation in combat.
The UN report also shows a sharp increase in child casualties, with 1,298 children killed or maimed, as the conflict has significantly worsened in the eastern provinces, particularly North Kivu and Ituri. Massacres, displacement and attacks on civilian infrastructure have intensified, particularly in areas controlled by armed groups such as M23 and CODECO.
The DRC faces additional challenges, including a surge in cases and deaths from Mpox. The central African country is the epicenter of the epidemic, with 80 percent of all laboratory-confirmed cases and deaths on the continent. Mpox cases are occurring in all provinces of the DRC, with multiple clade 2 outbreaks occurring simultaneously in endemic and non-endemic provinces.
While Mpox is primarily spread through close physical contact, it can affect anyone. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), vulnerable populations are at heightened risk of infection and severe illness.
Cross-border transmission from the war-torn eastern provinces of North and South Kivu into neighboring countries is accelerating, particularly into Burundi, but also into Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya.
Further information
Full text: No relief from food insecurity in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as a quarter of the population continue to face hunger, FAO, WFP, joint press release, published November 21, 2024
https://www.wfp.org/news/no-relief-food-insecurity-democratic-republic-congo-quarter-population-continue-face-hunger
Full text: DRC: Thousands of Children Face Escalating Violence and Exploitation Amid Intensifying Conflict, UN Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, published November 21, 2024
https://childrenandarmedconflict.un.org/2024/11/drc-thousands-of-children-face-escalating-violence-and-exploitation-amid-intensifying-conflict/