Attachments
HUMANITARIAN NEEDS
Despite a ceasefire, the partial retreat of the March 23 Movement (M23) non-state armed group and the return of some displaced people to their homes in parts of North Kivu, the humanitarian situation in eastern DRC remains worrying.
Conflicts among the many armed groups active in the area still force people to move in search of shelter. The M23 is still at a high risk of clashing with the Congolese armed forces (FARDC) on new frontlines and other armed groups are taking advantage of power vacuums in M23-vacated areas. Thousands are fleeing in search of safety every month.
The 145,000 people, estimated by OCHA to have returned to their homes in Rwanguba and Rutshuru face challenges to rebuild livelihoods and to meet their basic needs in the aftermath of conflict.2 They even face the threat of renewed violence and displacement.
5.7 million people are internally displaced and sheltering in Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu.3 2.3 million of these were displaced in North Kivu alone since the M23 clashes with the FARDC escalated in March 2022.
Insecurity drives humanitarian needs. The revised Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) estimates that 6.7 million people are in crisis and emergency levels of food insecurity in the three provinces (34% of the population).4 The conflicts have caused a 10% rise in food insecurity since last July (up from 6.1 million).
The 2023 Global Report on Food Crises reiterates that conflict is causing devastating disruption to livelihoods across these provinces and skyrocketing food insecurity.5 DRC is classified as one of the largest hunger hotspots worldwide.
Humanitarian assistance in eastern DRC is desperately needed to stop hunger in its tracks.