Skip to main content

OCHA launches updated US$1.68 billion DR Congo appeal to reflect needs of the deteriorating situation

Countries
DR Congo
+ 3 more
Sources
OCHA
Publication date

2018 UPDATE OF THE 2017 – 2019 HRP

This document is the 2018 Update of the Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) 2017 - 2019 for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In 2017, the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) adopted its first multi-year strategy. The multi-year HRP is grounded in the recommendations emanating from the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit and aims to foster a more effective humanitarian response adapted to the specific humanitarian context of the DRC - namely the scale, the cyclic and acute nature of the crisis. While 2017 was characterized by a dramatic deterioration in the humanitarian situation, the HCT has agreed that the multi-year and multi-sectoral approach of the 2017 - 2019 HRP remains valid.
The 2018 edition of the HRP reflects updated objectives, activities, indicators, and sectoral strategies adapted to suit the current context. The document also includes an overview of the progress made in implementing the collective commitments of the humanitarian community on the key themes identified in the 2017 - 2019 HRP.

2017 OVERVIEW

Humanitarian actors worked tirelessly in 2017 under the HCT leadership and in support of the DRC authorities to deliver lifesaving assistance to millions of people across the country. Faced with a dramatic deterioration of the humanitarian situation across much of the country - namely the outbreak of violence in the Kasai region and the resurgence of conflict in the East - the humanitarian community quickly mobilized to launch significant coordination and advocacy initiatives. A Flash Appeal for the Kasais was launched in April which, thanks to the support of donors, led to a major deployment in Kasai region where humanitarian actors have traditionally had little presence. The advocacy by the humanitarian community led the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) to declare System-wide “Level 3” Emergency in October to rapidly scale up capacity for the crises in Kasai region and provinces of Tanganyika (including Pweto and Malemba-Nkulu territories) and South Kivu (including Maniema), where the situation had deteriorated dramatically. Humanitarian organizations assisted 2.7 million people across the DRC in 2017. However, more efforts are required, as assistance reached only 33 per cent of the people in need. Underfunding was a significant impediment to the response in 2017, with only US$398 million received – 49 per cent – of the $812.6 million required under the HRP.

PREFACE BY THE HUMANITARIAN COORDINATOR

In January 2017, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Humanitarian Country Team launched its first multisectoral and multi-year Humanitarian Response Plan covering 2017-2019. In addition to implementing the global commitments made at the World Humanitarian Summit, this approach allowed the humanitarian community to focus more strategically on a humanitarian situation that was already deteriorating.

The humanitarian situation worsened dramatically in 2017, exceeding the planning projections. Conflict expanded across several localities in Kasai region and violence intensified in the country’s east, exponentially driving up population displacement, food insecurity, malnutrition and the spread of epidemics. Today, the DRC hosts more than 4.5 million internally displaced people, the highest number of any country on the African continent.

The overall objectives and response strategies of the threeyear plan remain broadly relevant. However, the figures and the strategy have had to be updated to suit the current context. The 2018 edition reflects these revisions.
In a country nearly the size of Western Europe, humanitarian actors have striven to assist a growing number of people in increasingly large areas amid some of the lowest aid funding in 10 years. The factors contributing to the deterioration in the humanitarian situation severely stretched the capacity of humanitarian actors to respond, prompting the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator to activate the highest level of emergency response – a Level 3 – for the Kasai, Tanganyika and South Kivu crises. A reform of the humanitarian coordination structures is being carried out to streamline the system and improve the flexibility of response.
The projections are alarming: the current high level of vulnerability and need is unprecedented in the history of humanitarian appeals in the DRC, jeopardizing stability and development endeavours. Eighteen of the DRC’s 26 provinces face humanitarian emergencies. Around 13.1 million – including 7.7 million children – will need humanitarian protection and assistance in 2018, representing a 50 per cent increase from 2017. This includes 7.5 million people who are displaced or returned and need assistance to meet basic needs such as shelter and clean water; 9.9 million people who require assistance to meet their food needs; and 4.5 million children who require treatment for malnutrition. The alleviation of suffering – and at times survival – of millions of men, women, girls and boys will depend on the humanitarian community’s ability to mobilize in the year ahead.

I take this opportunity to salute the partners who have contributed to the significant collective progress of the humanitarian response in the DRC. Efforts are now required to build on this progress and adapt the response to meet urgent needs across the country. In 2018, US$1.68 billion is required to assist 10.5 million people. The importance of flexible funding in this volatile environment cannot be understated, and it is essential that contributions to the DRC Humanitarian Fund reach 15 per cent of the total HRP requirement. I would like to encourage donors to prioritize funding over several years in accordance with their commitments under the “Grand Bargain”.

Given the huge needs and limited resources, the humanitarian community that I represent are forced to make impossible choices every day. We count on your support so that are not forced to make these choices and can reach the most vulnerable and enable millions of people in the DRC to regain their dignity and humanity, in accordance with the humanitarian principles and standards that we are all committed to upholding

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit https://www.unocha.org/.