The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is urgently calling for $629.7 million to sustain and scale up life-saving assistance in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, DR Congo). The UN agency reported Tuesday that conditions for those housed in camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) who have fled conflict in the provinces of Ituri, North and South Kivu have become dire with the advent of the rainy season.
According to WFP, families are sheltering under layers of tarpaulin held up by thin wooden branches as the rains hit and create unlivable conditions. Alongside deepening food insecurity, poor sanitation standards are worsening the health crisis. According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) cholera is sweeping through the IDP camps, as DR Congo faces the worst cholera crisis since 2017.
The humanitarian situation in the eastern provinces of the DR Congo has reached devastating levels, as cyclical violence perpetrated by armed groups and subsequent displacement continues to impact millions of vulnerable civilians.
The unrelenting cycle of violence has forced some 3.3 million people into displacement since March 2022, when clashes between armed groups – mainly rebels from the M23 armed group - and government forces reignited. More than 1.5 million people have been forced to leave their homes in eastern DRC since January 2023.
The World Food Programme is on the ground and has scaled up its capacity. However, a severe lack of funding prevents any further program expansion to those IDPs with extreme needs. As the conflict does not let up, people continue to be forced from their homes and the only shelter they can find is in makeshift camps and host communities.
In June this year, the world’s top relief officials announced a system-wide scale-up that allowed humanitarian organizations to increase their operations in eastern DRC following months of relentless violence, displacement and rising humanitarian needs.
In recent weeks, humanitarian organizations have stepped up their operations. However, aid agencies like WFP urgently need additional financial support to continue and strengthen their operations.
In July, WFP reached 1.2 million people with in-kind food, cash and nutrition programs. According to the UN agency, 3.6 million people across the eastern provinces need its assistance, though resources are not available.
WFP said - as a result - the aid agency is forced to undertake extreme prioritization measures, such as focusing resources on internally displaced people in camps, leaving many, including host communities, vulnerable to severe food insecurity.
“Predictable and flexible resources are urgently required as they provide WFP with the ability not only to increase the number of people it assists, but also to ensure the agility and speed of the response in view of the fragile security and humanitarian situation”, the UN agency said.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is facing one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the world, and the situation in the country is one of the most neglected displacement crises globally. For decades, the country has endured multiple, overlapping emergencies driven mainly by conflict and forced displacement.
The DRC already suffers one of the largest internal displacement crises in Africa due to the ongoing violence. 7.5 million people in the country have been forced to flee their homes. Among them are 6.2 internally displaced persons (IDPs) and 1.3 million refugees, that have sought safety in neighboring countries. In addition, DRC hosts some 500,000 refugees.
The majority of IDPs have fled their homes within the three eastern provinces of Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu. The conflict in eastern DRC has caused an interlinked crisis, affecting food insecurity, malnutrition, health, education, as well as access to clean water and shelter.
Eastern DRC is home to multiple armed groups, including the rebel Mouvement du 23 mars (M23) force, the CODECO (Coopérative pour le développement du Congo) armed group, Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels, and Mai-Mai militants.
Since the beginning of 2023, more than 1.5 million people have been forcibly displaced in the provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri, bringing the total to more than 5.8 million displaced people in the eastern part of the country. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), women represent 51 percent of the displaced population. More than 80 percent of displacements are due to attacks and armed clashes.
While in the whole country some 26 million people are experiencing food insecurity, at least 6.7 million people are facing high levels of acute food insecurity in Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu provinces. An estimated 2.8 million children in DR Congo are acutely malnourished.
The UN estimates that 26.4 million require humanitarian assistance in the country this year. Among them are 15.4 million children. In the three eastern provinces, 7.8 million women, men, and children are in need of humanitarian aid.
Aid operations in the DR Congo are faced with a huge funding shortfall. The United Nations has appealed for $2.3 billion but received only $792 million (35 percent) so far, with just a few months left in the year.
Further information
Full text: Emergency Appeal: Funding Urgently Needed in North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) - Flash Report (15 September 2023), World Food Programme, Situation Report, released September 19, 2023
https://reliefweb.int/report/democratic-republic-congo/emergency-appeal-funding-urgently-needed-north-kivu-south-kivu-and-ituri-democratic-republic-congo-drc-flash-report-15-september-2023