Recurrent violent attacks have resulted in the loss of many lives and the destruction of communities. In the east of the country, the security situation is deteriorating and civilians are increasingly being targeted, while frequent human rights violations continue to be perpetrated by various armed groups.
Atrocities are compounded by food insecurity and the spread of disease due to disrupted access to health services.
Thousands of civilians are currently fighting for their lives.
Armed conflict in much of eastern DRC in recent years, as well as inter-communal violence, continues to uproot Congolese both within and beyond the country's borders.
As the new wave of conflict forces many Congolese to flee, the country also hosts more than half a million refugees from neighbouring countries.
Vumuli, 35, sits outside a church that serves as a temporary shelter for internally displaced people in Drodro, Ituri. Her village was attacked in June 2019 and her family was separated as she fled. With three of her children, she searched for her husband and nine-year-old child and found them dead by the Tsulu River. She then fled to Drodro.
UNHCR ensures the protection of vulnerable people in the DRC, especially women and children, and provides them with vital support.
More than one in five people are under the age of five, and women and children are particularly at risk of exploitation and abuse. A woman in DRC will be raped on average once in her lifetime.
The challenges of getting aid to those in need continue to grow. Strengthening public health, sanitation and water supply is essential to prevent disease.
We are also providing protection and assistance to Congolese refugees in neighbouring countries, in collaboration with the authorities and partners, including those forced to flee during the latest wave of violence.
In 2022, in view of the gravity of the situation, UNHCR and its partners launched an urgent appeal for CHF 207 million. Only 30% of these funds have been raised. A fund needed to ensure immediate protection and humanitarian assistance to refugees, and to help rebuild the lives of uprooted people in surrounding countries of asylum.
We need your help.