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Current Requirements (US$)$2.54 billion
Crisis overview
The security situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo is dominated by ongoing armed conflict in the eastern provinces, where the DRC's armed forces confront numerous non-state armed groups (NSAGs). This conflict drives widespread displacement and fuels a protection crisis. While attention often centers on the M23 armed group, numerous other NSAGs—including the Mai-Mai groups, the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), and the Cooperative for Development of the Congo (CODECO)—continue to escalate attacks on civilians, employing indiscriminate violence and terrorizing the population. The provinces of Ituri, Nord-Kivu, and Sud-Kivu are the most affected, but specific areas in the neighboring provinces of Maniema and Tanganyika also experience confrontations involving various NSAGs.
From January to August 2024, the conflict—predominantly in the east—has caused the displacement of 2.47 million people, bringing the total number of displaced persons in the country to 6.3 million as of August 2024. This makes the DRC the second country in Africa with the highest number of internally displaced persons (IDP). The IDP camps and collective IDP sites around Goma now host nearly 600,000 displaced individuals —a record high. The confirmed expansion of NSAGs into new areas in 2024 continues to cause suffering, population displacement, exacerbating socio-economic tensions and security issues, including blatant violations of international humanitarian law such as attacks on humanitarian organizations and displacement sites. The conflict has also significantly reduced civilians' access to essential services. In the western part of the country, the inter-communal conflict in the Grand Bandundu region, ongoing for more than two years, has displaced over 220,000 people, most of whom are living with host families.
Kisangani, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Rachel and her children, including her daughter Sophie—who was brutally attacked and lost both arms—in Tshopo province, a region plagued by ongoing communal violence.
OCHA/Wassy KambaleThe country is also confronted with the effects of climate change, which have aggravated the impact of recurrent floods in many provinces of the DRC. In 2023, floods impacted a record 4.1 million people. From January to September 2024, over 1.1 million people were affected. The country is also exposed to significant epidemics that increase the vulnerability of the population and put additional pressure on the already precarious health system. As of October 2024, suspected cholera cases have reached 27,000, while measles cases stand at 87,000. Both figures represent a significant decrease compared to 2023. However, Mpox cases have surged alarmingly, with 38,000 suspected cases and 1,000 deaths reported between January and October 2024, a substantial increase from the 14,626 cases identified throughout 2023.
While the conflict in the east is the primary driver of multisectoral humanitarian needs, the DRC has the world’s highest number of people facing acute food shortages with 25.5 million severely food insecure according to the latest IPC report from September 2024. More than 1.39 million children between the ages of 6 to 59 months suffer from severe acute malnutrition, and one in every two children under five suffers from chronic malnutrition. These vulnerabilities are largely the result of chronic developmental failures in the country, such as weak agricultural production, inadequate transport infrastructure, market dysfunction, underemployment, and reduced purchasing power. These factors reflect the widespread poverty affecting over 60 per cent of the population, who survive on less than $2.10 per day.
Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Congo River floods severely impacted Kinshasa neighborhoods, with rising waters linked to climate change. Humanitarian concerns include potential epidemics.
OCHA/Wassy KambaleIn 2024, the humanitarian community in the DRC agreed to focus on conflict, natural hazards, and infectious disease outbreaks as the primary shocks defining the geographical scope of the humanitarian needs analysis. Consequently, only 64 per cent of the country's health zones —those experiencing at least one of these three shocks— were considered in the analysis for assessing the severity of needs and estimating the PiN. This explains the smaller PiN compared to last year, as it reflects humanitarian needs attributable to specific shocks.
Looking ahead to 2025, the security situation in the east is expected to remain highly precarious despite the August 2024 ceasefire established with the main armed group. Insecurity will continue to challenge humanitarian access, particularly in the territories of Nord-Kivu and Ituri provinces. Further displacement and growing humanitarian needs are anticipated in the eastern regions if a sustained ceasefire involving the majority of other NSAGs is not achieved. Additionally, the country is expected to continue facing natural hazards such as flooding, exacerbated by climate change. These events are likely to recur in 2025, affecting vulnerable populations and adding pressure to humanitarian response efforts.
Isangi, Tshopo, Democratic Republic of the Congo
With armed groups controlling key areas, the river route has become the only access to Minova, where over 300,000 displaced people from Masisi have sought refuge. This route is essential for both displaced persons and humanitarian workers, as access from Goma remains highly restricted and insecure.
OCHA/Wassy KambaleResponse priorities in 2025
Despite operational and access challenges, humanitarian partners expect to provide assistance to approximately 7.1 million people by the end of 2024 —an increase of 3 per cent compared to the 6.9 million people reached in 2023. This achievement was made possible, among other factors, by a better-funded humanitarian response plan compared to the previous year, both in relative and absolute terms. As of 25 November 2024, the humanitarian community in the DRC has secured $1.3 billion, or 50 per cent of the funding requested in the 2024 Humanitarian Response Plan.
In 2025, the efforts of the humanitarian community will primarily focus on saving lives and alleviating the suffering of people affected by recurrent shocks linked to conflicts, natural hazards, and epidemics. This will be achieved through safe, equitable, and inclusive multisectoral life-saving interventions guided by humanitarian principles, which account for at least 60 per cent of the response plan budget. Additionally, humanitarian actors focus on improving safe, equitable, and dignified access to quality basic services for those affected by recurrent shocks, in line with fundamental rights and standards, to safeguard their well-being and prevent further erosion of their coping capacities.
Goma, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo
A pregnant woman, displaced by conflict, receives support from a humanitarian worker to carry her packages during a Red Cross food distribution.
OCHA/Francis MwezeHealth zones with an intersectoral severity score of 3 and above will be prioritized for the response, based on a needs analysis conducted using the Joint Intersectoral Analysis Framework (JIAF) 2 methodology, which was adopted in the DRC,. This includes all the health zones of Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, and Tanganyika provinces in the east of the country, which will constitute the focus of the response in the DRC, as in previous years. Furthermore, certain zones in other provinces—such as those comprising the Grand Bandundu region in the west—and other areas affected by climatic or health shocks where the combination of needs yields intersectoral severity levels at or above the established threshold will also be targeted by specific clusters.
Multisectoral responses will focus on IDPs, along with recent returnees and host communities. Those not displaced by conflict will also be targeted, and assistance will be provided when humanitarian access—currently the main operational constraint in some eastern areas— becomes possible.
Efforts will be intensified to secure humanitarian access, especially in areas fully controlled by NSAGs, ensuring that assistance is provided in accordance with the humanitarian principles of impartiality, neutrality and independence. Particular attention will be given to the progressive disengagement of MONUSCO from Ituri and North Kivu provinces and its consequences for humanitarian operations, including lessons learned from its disengagement from South Kivu in 2024.
Kwamouth, Mai-Ndombe, Democratic Republic of the Congo:
Fazili, an agronomist with NGO ABCOM, trains people in sustainable vegetable production techniques, supporting food security and resilience.
OCHA/Francis MwezeRecognizing the different nature of crises in targeted areas—such as the differences between the east of the country versus the Grand Bandundu region—efforts will focus on implementing tailored solutions and humanitarian programming to better address people's vulnerabilities and their underlying causes. In 2025, humanitarian actors will pre-position resources to respond to potential needs from natural hazards like floods, and will explore anticipatory actions for timely response. Coordination with development actors will also aim to strengthen prevention efforts and foster long-term solutions.
In 2025, humanitarians will expand the use of multi-purpose cash transfers (MPC) across operations, aligning with the vulnerable populations’ preferences and meeting basic needs. Like sectoral cash transfers, MPC implementation will be guided by the feasibility of context-specific cash-based responses. Rapid response mechanisms will also be strengthened and unified to improve responsiveness to sudden displacements caused by conflict and natural disasters.
Collaboration with peace and development actors will be prioritized in all conducive areas—especially zones of return or areas of intercommunal conflict—to ensure complementarity. Given the serious issue of sexual exploitation and abuse in the DRC, including within humanitarian action, the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) will focus on preventing, identifying, mitigating, and responding to this issue diligently. Enhanced accountability and community engagement will also be promoted to ensure a response that better aligns with people's needs and expectations.
Financial requirements
In 2025, the humanitarian community in the DRC will require $2.54 billion to assist 11 million people. Although financial requirements are nearly unchanged from 2024, the number of people targeted has grown significantly, reflecting a more focused 2025 Humanitarian Response Plan that prioritizes needs arising directly from shocks—such as conflicts, natural hazards, and epidemics—while emphasizing the root causes of the crisis for advocacy.
With the adoption of Joint Intersectoral Analysis Framework 2.0, the severity of needs analysis is more interoperable, allowing for better prioritization of interventions.
Despite the DRC’s response cost being among the highest globally, humanitarian actors have worked to optimize the 2025 budget, allowing for a higher number of people targeted while keeping costs below the 2024 level. This demonstrates a commitment to maximizing resources and ensuring assistance reaches those most in need.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
2024 in review: Response highlights and consequences of inaction
Response highlights
Water, sanitation and hygiene
By the end of August 2024, at least 2.7 million people in hard-to-reach areas affected by humanitarian crises benefited from water, hygiene, and sanitation services.
Nutrition
A total of 1 million acutely malnourished children (aged 6–59 months) and 400,000 pregnant and lactating women are expected to be reached by the end of 2024.
Shelter and NFIs
From January to September 2024, 528,000 people received shelter assistance, and 1,032,000 received essential household items. Among them, 145,000 women and adolescent girls of reproductive age benefited from additional menstrual hygiene kits.
Education
Education sector partners assisted 440,000 children, 50.5 per cent of whom were girls, and 10,000 teachers in areas affected by emergencies, achieving 69 per cent of the sector's target.
Child protection
Over 5,800 children released from armed groups received support from service providers, and 780,000 children received mental health and psychosocial support services.
Health
Between January and August 2024, health cluster partners assisted 3,180,000 people affected by crises—around 40 per cent of the target for the year. This includes 2,750,000 people who had free access to primary health care, 155,000 to secondary health care, and 171,000 to sexual and reproductive health services (births assisted by qualified personnel).
Protection
By August 2024, 3.33 million people received protection services across all protection Areas of Responsibility (AoRs), which is 55 per cent of the target.
Gender-based violence
In the first half of 2024, 61,300 survivors of GBV (89 per cent women and girls) received comprehensive care services tailored to their needs. Local organizations, accounting for 85 per cent of GBV AoR members, received capacity-building support, improving accountability to affected communities and contributing to sustainability.
Consequences of inaction
- Underfunding:
Nutrition
By year’s end, limited funding will prevent over 220,000 children under five with severe acute malnutrition from receiving essential nutritional treatment
Camp coordination and camp management
Although the camp coordination and camp management cluster achieved substantial coverage in sites, critical humanitarian sectors—notably health, food security, shelter, and WASH—remain largely underserved, due insufficient resources for site closures and durable solutions.
Protection
A 70 per cent funding gap in the protection sector left 1.48 million people without access to protection activities across all AoRs.
Health
Around 3 million crisis-affected individuals lack access to integrated emergency health care. Emergency sexual and reproductive health services reached less than 30 per cent of women of childbearing age and adolescents.
- Access constraints:
Humanitarian access
Humanitarian access has been restricted in some areas during active fighting but typically recover once hostilities subside. However, attacks on humanitarian convoys and intimidation of humanitarian personnel continue to hamper access, jeopardizing aid delivery and access to basic services. Additionally, due to the risk posed by weapons in IDP sites, humanitarian actors have reduced their presence and time spent there, which has negatively impacted the delivery of protection services.
Physical access
Overall, 1.9 million people, including 1.72 million IDPs, could not be assisted due to lack of physical access including inaccessible roads and bridges destroyed by rain.