Democratic Republic of the Congo

Overview

A complex emergency has persisted in DRC for more than 20 years. Population displacement is frequent and repeated, and mostly driven by armed clashes and intercommunal violence between foreign, self-defence, and other armed groups. More than 5 million people are internally displaced. The situation in the eastern provinces remains particularly volatile; humanitarian needs are projected to be higher in 2021 than at the beginning of 2020, as displaced and local populations are faced with violence, food insecurity, floods, disease outbreaks, and the secondary effects of COVID-19 restrictions. 1,315 extrajudicial killings by armed groups were reported in the first half of 2020 – three times the number recorded during the same period in 2019. Over 934,000 refugees from DRC live in African host countries. DRC also hosts about 527,000 refugees, mainly from Rwanda, Central African Republic, Congo, and Angola.?

19.6 million people – 29% of the analysed population – are projected to need food assistance for the January–June 2021 period. This is an increase from the 13.56 million (28% of the analysed population) in the same period last year. It is, however, a decrease from the July–December 2020 period (21.8 million, or 33% of the analysed population), mainly because predictions for the January–June 2021 period include the easing of COVID-19 restrictions and favourable weather conditions. Insecurity, displacement, and poor transport infrastructure will continue to hamper the population’s access to food.?

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