The United Nations and its humanitarian partner organizations, alongside the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), launched this year's Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) on Wednesday. They are calling on donors across the world for a funding total of US$1.4 billion, which would provide assistance to 7.3 million people in a country where nearly 15 million still need humanitarian aid — a figure that is widely considered underestimating the actual need.
UN officials describe DRC as "one of the world's most protracted and most neglected humanitarian crises," driven by armed conflict, displacement, climate shocks, and epidemics.
Due to insufficient funding, the 2026 response plan will only support 7.3 million people out of the nearly 15 million individuals who require life-saving assistance and protection. In 2025, just 24 percent of the $2.5 billion needed to assist those in need was raised, forcing aid agencies to scale back operations.
Funding shortfalls force drastic scaling back of assistance
The shortfall has had tangible consequences. In 2025, funding gaps led to the closure of more than 1,000 nutrition centers, depriving approximately 390,000 children with severe acute malnutrition of essential treatment. Additionally, approximately 1.5 million people lost access to primary healthcare due to facility closures, shortages of vital medicines, and limited capacity to prevent and respond to epidemics.
Food assistance was also curtailed, with monthly ration cuts of up to 73 percent in the eastern provinces. Continued fighting in North Kivu, South Kivu, and Ituri has further disrupted humanitarian operations, creating new needs, disrupting supply chains, and increasing administrative and security constraints.
“The combination of immense needs and limited resources forces us into extremely difficult, sometimes impossible, choices,” said Bruno Lemarquis, Humanitarian Coordinator in DRC, on Wednesday.
“We call for renewed and strengthened financial commitment so that we can respond efficiently, help preserve the dignity of the Congolese people facing acute suffering, and prevent millions from being deprived of life-saving support,” Lemarquis added.
The number of people expected to be in need of aid decreased from 21.2 million in 2025 to 14.9 million in 2026, a decline of about 30 percent.
However, this sharp decline does not reflect improvements on the ground, but rather methodological changes and different analytical methods. The narrower targeting of 7.3 million people instead of 11 million last year means a strict focus on populations facing the most urgent life-threatening needs.
“We cannot continue operating as before. Humanitarian assistance is indispensable because it saves lives, but it is not the solution to humanitarian problems,” the Humanitarian Coordinator said.
“It does not address the root causes of the crises. The best response is the one that sustainably reduces needs. The pursuit of peace must be at the center of our efforts. Solutions are above all political. “
Recognizing the severity of the situation, Lemarquis advocated for a paradigm shift toward prevention and the “Humanitarian Development Peace Nexus” to create impact at scale.
He also highlighted the resilience of Congolese communities, noting that host families "open their homes and share what little they have," thereby forming the country's first line of humanitarian support.
The 2026 HNRP exclusively focuses on 228 health zones affected by armed conflict, climatic hazards, and epidemics—down from 332 in 2025. Without adequate funding, however, the response will not match the scale of the needs. With adequate support, though, aid agencies say the response could be expanded to meet those needs.
A crisis largely absent from global headlines
Despite its absence from major news outlets, the humanitarian crisis in DR Congo remains one of the longest-running and most neglected in the world. The humanitarian community says it remains fully engaged with the Congolese government to save lives, protect civilians, and strengthen resilience.
Even with access challenges, dwindling resources, and heightened insecurity last year, aid agencies managed to provide assistance at least once to over 8.2 million people in the first 11 months of 2025. However, the frequency and quantity of these efforts were often insufficient due to funding gaps and operational constraints.
Ongoing armed conflict remains the primary cause of humanitarian needs in DRC. For years, the human rights and humanitarian crises in the country have been spiraling, prompting the United Nations to repeatedly warn of the dire situation and urge the international community to pay more attention to the plight of Congolese civilians.
Last year, hostilities spread throughout North Kivu, South Kivu, and Ituri, leading to widespread displacement and continuous back-and-forth movements, as well as intensified protection risks for civilians. Despite its vast natural resources, DRC has some of the highest poverty and vulnerability levels in the world.
The eastern provinces, particularly South Kivu, North Kivu, and Ituri, have been plagued by violence for decades as non-state armed groups battle for control of the region's abundant natural resources. Many of those forced to flee have been displaced multiple times.
According to the latest food security analysis, 26.6 million Congolese are expected to face crisis-level acute hunger or worse by early 2026. The situation is most dire in the conflict-ridden eastern provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu, Ituri, and Tanganyika. Ongoing armed violence, displacement, and limited humanitarian access exacerbate food insecurity in these provinces.
Projections indicate that by January 2026, over 10 million people — approximately one-third of the population in these four provinces — will face crisis levels of hunger, including 3 million who will experience emergency levels.