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Current Requirements (US$)$1.88 billion
Analysis of the context, crisis and needs
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) remains one of the world’s most complex and protracted humanitarian crises. Armed conflict continues unabated in the eastern part of the country, particularly in North Kivu and Ituri Provinces, where the Government has declared a state of siege. Almost 5.5 million people are still uprooted, the highest count in Africa. In 2021 alone, there were an estimated 1.5 million displacements. DRC also currently hosts 517,790 refugees from neighbouring countries.
According to the latest IPC cycle, 27 million people face acute food insecurity, which remains the highest number for a single country in the world. In addition, an estimated 4 million children under 5 years of age are acutely malnourished, a 17 per cent increase from last year.
Violent conflict, epidemics and natural disasters continue to compound high levels of poverty, weak public infrastructure and basic social services, as well as conflict dynamics over land and mineral resources. Since October 2021, a new Ebola outbreak has emerged in North Kivu with 11 cases, adding to the complexity of the humanitarian situation in the highly volatile northern part of the province.
Kotoni, DRC
This man sits at a desk in the primary school where he found refuge with his family of five after fleeing their village. At night, six households (30 to 40 people) gather to sleep here. He said: “The conditions are very bad. We have no money; we came without anything. We only have the clothes we wear. It’s very crowded. We have sent our older children farther away so that they are in security.” Following violent clashes in the surrounding mountains, Kotoni village received more than 9,000 displaced people, doubling its population. Around half of the displaced families have found refuge with host families. The others have built makeshift shelters or are sleeping in the school's classrooms.
OCHA/Ivo BrandauCOVID-19 continues to place a toll on the population, with at least 57,879 confirmed cases and expansion throughout the territory. These developments come in addition to recurring epidemics such as cholera and measles. As of October, there have been 6,208 cases of cholera and 50,046 cases of measles registered since the beginning of the year. This is despite the end of the national measles epidemic in August 2020.
Natural disasters have also placed their mark on humanitarian response. On 22 May 2021, the eruption of Mount Nyiragongo led to the temporary displacement of over 400,000 residents of Goma, leaving an estimated 10,000 people homeless.
The volatile security situation, particularly in the eastern part of the country, and poor infrastructure continue to hinder access to affected people. DRC remains one of the riskiest environments for humanitarian workers. At least 260 security incidents directly affecting humanitarian personnel or assets have been reported since the beginning of 2021.
Projected situation in 2022 and beyond
Conflicts and population movements in eastern DRC are expected to continue in 2022 with persistent clashes, particularly between armed groups and national armed forces. High levels of acute food insecurity in several parts of the country and the effects of communicable diseases (cholera, measles, malaria, COVID-19) will remain. The situation could be further aggravated by the evolution of new epidemics (e.g the recent Ebola outbreak in North Kivu and the meningitis epidemic in Tshopo) and potential natural disasters, such as floods. Most vulnerable groups include IDPs, returnees and host communities.
National and provincial political dynamics and the reconfiguration of the UN Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) could also influence the protection environment and local contexts. Regional risks include a renewed and increased influx of Congolese nationals expelled from Angola (towards the Kasai region and Kwango Provinces).
Iga Barriere, DR Congo
A young man relaxes after spending another day digging for gold, without success. He is an IDP staying at Linji site, near Iga Barriere, in Ituri Province. Linji hosts several thousand IDPs who had to flee their villages. The site is located near small gold mines, and many IDPs go there for day labour or to dig for a lucky find. The fields and paths around the site expose IDPs, particularly women, girls and boys, to great risks. Protection incidents often go unreported. The young man explains: “I came from far away. Our village was completely destroyed. My father was killed. In total, 17 members of my family were killed. I’m alone with my mother and one young sister now. Even after a full day of work here, often I come home without anything. My mother is sick and weak. She cannot work anymore. Before we fled, I was a child. Now I have to take care of my family.”
OCHA/Ivo BrandauThe number of people who need humanitarian assistance in DRC in 2022 (27 million) has increased compared to 2021 (19.6 million). This is due to an increased number of people in acute food insecurity (essentially due to increased geographical coverage of the IPC analysis). In addition, ongoing and intensified conflict in some areas (particularly North Kivu and Ituri but also parts of South Kivu and Tanganyika) will continue to severely affect people. Structural underdevelopment and humanitarian crises will continue to limit people’s access to essential goods and services, impacting their capacity for resilience.
Response priorities in 2022
The 2022 response strategy will focus on population movements, food insecurity, malnutrition, epidemics and protection incidents. In 2022, humanitarian partners will aim to assist 8.8 million of the most vulnerable people in DRC, with an estimated financial requirement of US$1.88 billion. The Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) has been further prioritized through intersectoral severity analysis and convergence and based on operational capacity to ensure the most severe needs are prioritized.
DRC HRP
A key focus of the humanitarian response will be on Ituri, North and South Kivu and parts of Tanganyika, where there is a convergence of humanitarian impacts, deepening humanitarian needs and increasing vulnerability levels. The humanitarian community will deliver targeted, multisectoral assistance, and it will continue to reinforce its accountability to affected people (AAP), prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse, mitigation of gender-based violence risks in programme implementation, inclusion of people with disabilities and localization. Building on progress made since 2019, particularly based on joined efforts in Kasai and Tanganyika Provinces, humanitarian actors will continue operationalizing the nexus approach to help reduce vulnerabilities and decrease humanitarian needs.
Achievements and innovations
During the 2022 Humanitarian Programme Cycle process, the DRC humanitarian community mobilized itself to better understand affected communities’ perceptions of humanitarian actors and humanitarian interventions. For this purpose, under the overall coordination of the national and regional inter-clusters, humanitarian actors conducted a perception survey with a sample of women and men from IDP, returnee and host communities in six provinces, as well as a series of focus group discussions (57 groups targeting IDPs, returnees and host communities in six provinces) to collect quantitative and qualitative data to capture perceptions, concerns and information needs by crisis-affected populations.
Eliya, DR Congo
The Eliya IDP site has a children's safe space where they can be listened to, play and relax. Life in a site is always considered transitory. Despite everything, the children play and continue to smile.
OCHA/Alioune NdiayeThis data, analysed jointly with the results of a Multi-Sector Needs Assessment conducted in one province, revealed a number of useful observations, including on the opinions of IDPs, returnees and host communities on current humanitarian interventions; on their preferences and priorities for future humanitarian interventions; and on priority information needs and preferred means of communication with humanitarian actors. The results were analysed during regional workshops. They will continue feeding into the ongoing planning and programming cycle and into the AAP Working Group at HCT to better inform decision-making, harmonize approaches and strengthen efforts.
Further reading
Source: OCHA
Source: Humanitarian Insight
Source: Financial Tracking Service
References
- Population movements commissions, Statistical data on population movements (September 2019 – August 2021).
- UNHCR, Refugee data as of the end of July 2021.
- IPC analysis, 20th cycle (July-December 2021), October 2021.
- Bulletin SNSAP (August 2021).
- WHO/MoH Ebola situation report (30 October 2021).
- WHO/MoH situation report 292/2021 (19 October 2021).
- Health Cluster data, epidemiological surveillance (week 41, 2021).
- INSO, UNDSS, OCHA, as of end of September 2021.