Attachments
The Democratic Republic of the Congo continues to face one of the world’s most severe food crises, with 26.6 million people projected to experience high levels of acute food insecurity (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification [IPC] Phase 3 or above).1 Armed violence, intercommunal conflicts, flooding and the impact of the lean season – particularly in the eastern part of the country – are driving large-scale displacement, including of many farmers. As a result, planting seasons are missed and harvests lost, reducing food availability and forcing households to increasingly adopt negative coping mechanisms, such as selling productive assets, further undermining their ability to recover livelihoods.
In North Kivu alone, 43 percent of the population is projected to face acute food insecurity in the first half of 2026,1 and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ (FAO’s) Data in Emergencies (DIEM) has identified over 300 000 farming households in need of assistance.2 The combined impacts of insecurity, forced displacement and limited access to land, inputs and markets are contributing to a worsening malnutrition crisis in the east, where households struggle to produce diverse foods and infant and child feeding practices remain inadequate.
The Government of Belgium contributed USD 800 000 to FAO, through SFERA, to support 1 500 vulnerable households (9 000 people), with a focus on families with children recently discharged from nutrition treatment programmes and pregnant and breastfeeding women. The project will provide households with highly nutritious crop seeds and breeding hens to increase access to quality animal-sourced foods (meat and eggs), alongside cash assistance to protect productive assets. It will also support community kitchen gardens, livestock vaccination campaign, nutrition education and cooking demonstrations, strengthening community resilience and reducing the risk of malnutrition.