Democratic Republic of the Congo: Humanitarian Highlights #1 (1 - 31 January 2023)

EASTERN DRC

$750,000 TO PREVENT CHOLERA IN NORTH & SOUTH-KIVU

The UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) released $ 750,000 to fight cholera in eastern North and South Kivu provinces. This funding is part of a two-year pilot initiative aimed at allowing UNICEF, WHO and their partners to support the DRC to take anticipatory actions to prevent large outbreaks of the waterborne disease and provide assistance for more than 150,000 people.

In 2022, DRC reported 17,355 suspected cases including 285 deaths in the whole country. One of the hardest hit areas is the Nyiragongo health zone in North Kivu province, where an ongoing cholera outbreak has affected over 3,700 people and left 16 others dead. To contain the epidemic, the Congolese authorities launched on 25 January a five-day cholera vaccination campaign targeting over 364,000 people living in displacement sites.

WFP RAISES ALARM ON RESOURCES SHORTFALL

The World Food Programme (WFP) announced that it is facing a funding shortfall that will disrupt its activities if no new funding is received soon. The agency said it has almost exhausted its food stocks intended for distribution in January and February 2023 in North Kivu, while the stock was expected to last until April. WFP said it needs an additional $ 50.6 million to be able to continue responding to food and nutritional needs in the province until April.

NORTH KIVU

THOUSANDS DISPLACED FOLLOWING NEW ARMED CLASHES IN MASISI

During the month of January, fighting continued between the Congolese army and the M23 armed group, including in Kitshanga (about 80 km northwest of Goma) and its surroundings, forcing thousands to flee their homes.

Humanitarian actors estimate that over 122,000 people were displaced between 24 and 26 January, close to 70 per cent are living with host families.
Others have taken shelter in schools, churches, and other makeshift settlements. Delivering humanitarian assistance has been hampered by the persistent fighting; more than a dozen NGOs operating in Kitshanga and Mweso have suspended their activities in these areas. The renewed violence in Masisi Territory is restricting humanitarian access to more than 300,000 displaced people who were already living in the area and in the neighboring territories of Lubero and Rutshuru.

CIVILIANS CONTINUE TO BE TARGETED BY ARMED GROUPS IN BENI

On 22 January, armed men attacked the village of Makungwe in Vuhovi health zone in North Kivu province, killing at least 25 civilians, according to local humanitarian sources. The attackers looted and set fire to homes and shops, forcing thousands to flee.
This incident came a week after an improvised explosive device (IED) killed 14 people and injured about 80 others in a church in Kasindi (90 kilometers from Beni). On 25 January, another bomb exploded, leaving at least 18 civilians wounded. The use of IED in Beni has become recurrent over the past two years.

ITURI

CIVILIANS UNDER THREAT

Since late December 2022, Djugu Territory has been hit by a string of deadly attacks targeting civilians, particularly displaced people. It is estimated that at least 200 civilians have been killed since December, including at least seven displaced people killed and four others injured during an armed attack in Plaine Savo IDP site on 19 January. The recent violence has forced more than 52,000 people to move to surrounding localities and to some IDP sites. The humanitarian community aims to assist more than 166,000 people in the next three months, including some 70,000 living in Rhoe IDP site.