Democratic Republic of the Congo

Overview

A complex emergency has persisted in DRC for more than 20 years. Most displacement, which is frequent and repeated, is due to armed clashes and intercommunal violence between foreign, self-defence, and other armed groups. More than 5 million people are internally displaced and over 900,000 refugees from DRC live in African host countries. In addition, DRC also hosts about 527,000 refugees, mainly from Rwanda, CAR, and South Sudan.?

Since mid-October, DRC has been severely affected by flooding. As of 12 December, over 600,000 people are estimated to have been affected, around 40% of them are in Nord Ubangi (146,000 people affected) and Sud Ubangi (108,000 people).?

Since August 2018, DRC faces an outbreak of Ebola virus centred in Ituri and Nord-Kivu provinces. Conflict in Nord-Kivu makes the response extremely challenging, and activities are regularly suspended.?

In January 2019, the Commission électorale nationale indépendante announced the provisional results, with Félix Tshisekedi declared the new president, after elections took place on 30 December 2018 in a tense climate with reports of widespread irregularities, voter suppression, and violence. ?

INFORM measures DRC's risk of humanitarian crisis and disaster to be very high, at 7.6/10. Lack of coping capacity is of particular concern, at 8/10 as well as vulnerability at 7.6/10. ?

Latest Developments

27/02/2020 For the first time since 1944, desert locusts have been reported in the DRC. The small group of mature locusts was sighted on the western shore of Lake Albert in eastern Congo on 21 February. An infestation with locusts could cause negative impact on food insecurity.?

13/02/2020 Militia attacks against civilians in Beni Territory (North Kivu) continue triggering population movements. Over 100,000 people are estimated to have been displaced across the territory since December. The most recent large displacement movement was from Mangina. Many IDPs face a lack of formal shelter and require basic assistance.?

ACAPS' team is daily monitoring the impact of COVID-19. Find more information related to the outbreak here.