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DR Congo

Democratic Republic of the Congo Crisis Response Plan 2023

Attachments

IOM Vision

In 2023, IOM seeks to respond to the critical needs of conflict-affected populations including internally displaced persons (IDPs) and host communities through the provision of multisectoral humanitarian assistance. IOM also aims to address complex conflict dynamics by creating the necessary conditions for peaceful coexistence through a holistic and multifaceted response at the local, provincial and national levels. Further, IOM will continue to support the government in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and other epidemics while contributing to strengthening the public health system.

CONTEXT ANALYSIS

The security situation in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has continued to deteriorate with the intensification of fighting between the March 23 Movement (M23) armed group and the Congolese armed forces, the persistent activism of other armed groups such as CODECO and Zaire in the Ituri province or the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) and the Mai-Mai in the North Kivu province, and inter-community conflicts such as in the Tanganyika province. Consequently, DRC is facing one of the most complex and protracted humanitarian crises in the world, marked by mass displacement (6.1 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the four eastern provinces of Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu and Tanganyika), critical needs in life-saving services (10 million people targeted for humanitarian assistance in 2023 out of 26.4 million in need), and severe human rights violations and protection risks such as discrimination, gender-based violence, violations of property rights, theft, looting, extortion of property, forced family separation, and attacks against civilians. The intensification of the M23 crisis in late 2022-early 2023 has caused large-scale population displacement and acutely growing humanitarian needs. According to the Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM)’s eighth crisis analysis evaluation published on 11 October, 2023, over 824,381 IDPs, of whom 58% are women and 13% are children under five years old, were forced to flee areas affected by the fighting (find the complete report here), compared to 180,000 people in November 2022.

Furthermore, the DRC government has taken significant measures to end violence against civilians and (re)establish state authority in the eastern provinces. However, several challenges such as slow national-level reform processes and funding commitment still prevent advancing, good governance, the rule of law and improving the management of natural resources. A new governmental Disarmament, Demobilization, Community Reintegration, and Stabilization Programme (P-DDRCS) strategy was adopted in March 2022 for the stabilization and securing of the eastern part of the DRC, notably through strengthening social cohesion and democratic dialogue, the restauration of state authority, community rehabilitation and reintegration, socio-economic development and public information/communication. . According to these five pillar, the P-DDRCS programme aims to take a community-centred and community-led approach to reintegration of ex-combatants and vulnerable community members, while also addressing the root causes of conflicts by embedding stabilization, governance, and socioeconomic development approaches.

In the health sector, the DRC is still affected by the COVID-19 pandemic even though preventive measures have been lightened by the national government authorities, as well as other outbreaks and epidemics. The recurrence of outbreaks and natural hazards (such as extreme floods and landslides) demands continuous efforts to strengthen preparedness and strengthening of the health system towards effective risk reduction, early detection at the facility and community level, and case management with a focus on migrants, host communities, mobile populations, including displaced people, and other crisis-affected populations.
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