ReliefWeb

Highlights

• More than 1.8 million people have been displaced (IDPs) during the reporting period -while the anti-MONUSCO protests paralysed As a result, UNICEF had to temporarily close its field office in Beni. While UNICEF continues to deliver its programme through local partners, this situation ampers humanitarian access on the ground and has negative impact on children and their protective environment

• Eight Ebola cases and 4 deaths were confirmed in the Health Zones in the North Kivu Provinces. 2 of the cases were healthcare professionals. 367,906 persons were reached with Ebola awareness messages, while 929 healthcare providers were briefed on Ebola prevention and other care protocols.

• During the first quarter, the nutritional surveillance and early warning bulletin (SNSAP) provides information on nutritional alerts in 75 health zones representing 14% of health zones across the DRC.

Situation in Numbers

9,800,000 people in need of humanitarian assistance (OCHA, Revised HRP 2021*)

19,600,000 people in need (OCHA, Revised HRP 2021*)

5,300,000 IDPs (OCHA, Revised HRP 2021*)

3,201 cases of cholera reported since January (Ministry of Health)

Funding Overview and Partnerships

UNICEF appeals for US$ 384 million to sustain the provision of humanitarian services for women and children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). UNICEF expresses its sincere gratitude to all public and private donors for the contributions received to date. However, the 2021 HAC has a funding gap of 84%, with significant funding needs in nutrition, health, WASH, education, and communication for development.

Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs

Inter-community violence and armed conflict:

Since March, protests against MONUSCO have been arisen in North Kivu and Ituri and turned into protests against humanitarian operation (called zero humanitarian operation). As a result, UNICEF had to temporarily close its field office in Beni. While UNICEF continues to deliver its programme through local partners, this situation ampers humanitarian access on the ground. In addition, there has been negative impact on children and their protective environment. Children are ‘used’ by political leaders/groups to participate in the protests. Seven children have been shot and wounded, one killed, and more than 70 children and youth have been arrested and incarcerated during the protests. Schools have been (unofficially) closed and parents are scared to send children to school, hampering education activities for children. Number of visits to the health and nutrition centre has been reduced.

Nord Kivu Province: more than 1.8 million people have been displaced (IDPs) during the reporting period -while the antiMONUSCO protests paralysed the socio-economic, education and civil activities across the province, the attacks by alleged Non State Armed groups have been intensifying in the Grand Nord Kivu. As a result, humanitarian needs are deepening but most of humanitarian actors have limited access to deliver assistance.

Ituri province: During the reporting period, security situation in the territories of Djugu and Irumu continue to intensify, the armed groups continue to attack FARDC and civilians, according to the need assessment conducted by UNICEF - around 23,080 people are displaced. On a positive note, at the end of April traffic along RN27 has been slowly resumed. UNICEF mobilized integrated response, including WASH, Health and C4D, with total of 1,637 NFI kits thru UniRR interventions. As a reminder, more than 1.6 million people have been displaced in Ituri Province and 49% of the total population are in needs of humanitarian assistances . Mortality rates in the Province is 1.5 times higher than the emergency threshold.

South Kivu province: Following a resurgence of the inter-ethnic tensions with armed group involvement in Kalehe territory, around 7,000 people have been displaced to Katasomwa and 10,000 people to Bunyakiri. According to an assessment led by the Provincial authority, multi-sectoral needs were observed. Conflict and humanitarian situation in Haut Plateaux has been spilled into Moyen Plateaux and Ruzizi plain as people from the Haut Plateaux started to come down to those areas. approximately 37,000 people are affected.

Tanganyika province: In Tanganyika, the clashes between FARDC and armed groups in the northeast of Nyunzu and the north of Kalemie continued to impact humanitarian situations that keeps deteriorating with 4,815 people displaced in April including 1,400 children.

Epidemics:

During the reporting period, 8 Ebola cases and 4 deaths have been confirmed in the Health Zones of Biena, Katwa,
Musienene and Butembo in the North Kivu Province. 2 of these cases were healthcare professionals. 2 persons had recovered and discharged from the Ebola Treatment Centre. There were no cases among children.

Regarding cholera, from week 1 to week 17, 2,801 suspected cases of cholera, of which 85 deaths, have been reported across the country mainly in the provinces of South-Kivu, North Kivu, Kasai Oriental, Haut Katanga and Lomami. Compared to the year 2020, the incidence decreased by 67,6%, with the number of suspected cases dropped from 8,639 cases in 2020 to 2,801 in 2021. The number of deaths attributable to the disease show a 14% decrease, from 112 in 2020 to 85 in 2021. The fatality rate remains particularly high at 3%.

In Ituri, in the health zone of Biringi Aru Territory, 70 new suspected cases of plague have been notified.

The COVID-19 outbreak is affecting 23 out of the 26 provinces, with a total of 29,850 confirmed cases.

Nutrition overview:

During the first quarter, the nutritional surveillance and early warning bulletin (SNSAP) provides information on nutritional alerts in 75 health zones representing 14% of health zones across the DRC. Six provinces are more affected, especially in Equator (14 ZS); Maniema (10 ZS); Kasai Oriental (10 ZS); Lomami (8Z); Sankuru (7 ZS) and Tshuapa (5 ZS). A nutritional intervention is underway in the provinces of Kasai Oriental, Sankuru and Tshuapa with funding from FCH, USAID / FFP, PUNC and World Bank. In response to SNSAP alerts, a SMART nutrition survey conducted in the Iboko and Pendjwa health zones shows a disturbing prevalence of malnutrition, respectively (SAM: 7.3%; GAM: 17.9% and SAM: 2.8%; GAM: 11.2%).

Natural disaster:

In Tanganyika province, 193 schools were destroyed by natural disasters affecting the schooling of more than 43,000 students (76 following the floods of Lake Tanganyika and 117 schools because of the torrential rains). Overall, on going floods are affecting 9,097 households in the province