The Eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been experiencing a unique humanitarian crisis since the resurgence of the M23 rebel movement and some local armed groups
After six weeks of heightening humanitarian operations in the provinces of Nord and Sud-Kivu and Ituri, humanitarian organizations have distributed aid and provided assurance to over 910,000 people.
In a statement released on Thursday, August 3, 2023, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) stated that by the end of the year, the United Nations, national and international non-governmental organizations, and the Red Cross plan to provide emergency aid to nearly 5.5 million people in these three provinces.
According to Suzanna Tkalec, acting humanitarian coordinator of OCHA-DRC, it is crucial for humanitarian organizations to expand the scope of their operations.
“The humanitarian situation in Ituri, in Nord-Kivu and Sud-Kivu, already catastrophic, has worsened in recent months, and it was essential to expand the scope of our operations. For several weeks, humanitarian partners have redoubled their efforts to meet the diverse needs of people affected by violence in these three provinces. These three provinces are only the visible part of a long and complex humanitarian crisis that has been affecting the country for nearly three decades,” she declared.
$1.57 billion is the amount needed to confront the escalation of the humanitarian crisis in the provinces of Nord and Sud-Kivu and Ituri. The goal is to combat food insecurity and malnutrition and provide protection services against sexual violence and fight epidemics.
In the past six weeks, several organizations have increased their staff to meet the needs of displaced populations due to the activism of armed groups.
In March 2022, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in DRC identified more than 3.3 million displaced people in the provinces of Ituri and Nord and Sud-Kivu, in the east of the country. This figure has brought the total number of displaced people in these three provinces to 5.6 million.
Magloire Tsongo, in Goma
