Attachments
HIGHLIGHTS
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The Democratic Republic of the Congo is home to the highest number of United Nations verified grave violations globally, and one of the highest numbers of internally displaced people. An escalation of armed conflict in the country is severely impacting 14.9 million children, who are harmed by recurrent disease outbreaks, endemic sexual violence and growing access constraints – all exacerbating vulnerability and heightening child mortality. Increased military operations in 2024, along with hostilities expected after withdrawal of the United Nations peacekeeping mission, will add to children's risks.
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UNICEF has prioritized life-saving interventions. Along with other cluster partners, it plans to cover at least 75 per cent of the cluster-specific populations in need for critical activities, subject to available resources. To enable a holistic humanitarian response, UNICEF will strive to provide integrated life-saving assistance while enhancing community resilience and social cohesion to pave the way for recovery. Protection from sexual exploitation and abuse, gender considerations and prevention and response to gender-based violence will be integrated into all interventions.
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UNICEF requires $804.3 million to address the acute needs of children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Timely, flexible and multi-year funding will be essential for UNICEF to reach the most vulnerable crisis-affected and forgotten children.
HUMANITARIAN SITUATION AND NEEDS
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is one of the world’s most complex crises, and one of its most forgotten. The upsurge in armed conflict and intercommunal clashes in the country has resulted in huge levels of displacement and further aggravated chronic poverty, systemic weaknesses and people's vulnerability. A total of 6.04 million people are displaced, including 3.5 million children, making this the worst displacement crisis in Africa. Instability and difficult conditions are challenging children’s mental health and psychosocial well-being: In 2023, 14.9 million children experienced the worst effects of violent conflict, because they were exposed to extreme violence and put at heightened risk of abuse in often precarious living conditions.
The country accounts for the highest number of verified grave violations against children in the world, with close to 3,400 grave violations verified in 2022. In the first half of 2023, these violations increased by 41 per cent. The prevalence of sexual violence against girls rose sharply, with a 40 per cent increase in the number of verified cases of rape and other forms of sexual violence. Two out of five survivors assisted in 2023 across the country were children under 18. Moreover, with 900,000 children out of school, and more than 1,000 schools closed, the country is not only facing a lost generation of children without an education but is also home to children who are at a high risk for violence and child marriage.
Child survival remains fragile due to major epidemic outbreaks and persistent levels of wasting, and this will worsen as conflict and the reduced capacity of the health system persist. Measles outbreaks are wreaking havoc on children, with the number of suspected cases reaching 282,323, with 5,330 deaths reported, largely exceeding the total reported cases in 2022. Children are also facing the worst cholera outbreak in six years, with 42,672 suspected cholera cases and 357 deaths reported.15 In 2023, North Kivu was the province hardest hit by cholera, with more than 65 per cent of all cases in the country – 41 per cent among children under age 18 and more than 25 per cent in children under age 5. The cholera outbreak is expected to persist into 2024. Needs are further compounded by such extreme weather phenomena as flooding and landslides, which led to the death of 3,000 people in May 2023 in Kalehe, South Kivu Province. Such natural disasters are expected to intensify in 2024.
The nutrition situation in the country remains critical, with 15 per cent of health zones on nutrition alerts. The number of emergency nutrition alerts is 6 per cent higher than the same period in 2022. Throughout the country, more than 1.2 million under 5 years of age require treatment for severe wasting; 4 million women/children need protection services; 6.6 million children require emergency water and sanitation; and 1.6 million children require emergency education.