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Briefing note: Democratic Republic of Congo - Humanitarian concerns in North Kivu, South Kivu, and Ituri (21 July 2022)

Countries
DR Congo
Sources
ACAPS
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OVERVIEW

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has a complex, protracted crisis resulting from a combination of factors, such as conflict, natural hazards, and disease outbreaks. Internal and cross-border displacement, acute food insecurity, acute malnutrition, epidemics, and protection issues affect the population. An estimated 27 million people in the country will need humanitarian assistance in 2022 – an increase of seven million from 2021. An estimated nine million people will need protection in 2022, over six million will need access to WASH, and four million will need shelter (OCHA 17/02/2022).

According to the most recent figures from March 2022, there are 5.97 million IDPs in the country, of which conflict or attacks by armed groups have displaced close to 96% (OCHA 10/05/2022). The areas most affected by conflict and violence are the eastern provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu, and Ituri (RULAC accessed 17/03/2022). These are also the provinces that host the majority of IDPs (an estimated 1.9 million in North Kivu, 1.4 million in South Kivu, and 1.9 million in Ituri) (OCHA 10/05/2022).

There are over 120 active armed groups in eastern DRC (GCRP 01/06/2022). The most active group is the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), mostly in North and South Kivu but also in Ituri (RULAC accessed 18/07/2022). In November 2021, there was a resurgence of the armed group called M23 (officially declared defeated in 2013), with at least ten attacks on army positions attributed to them (Protection Cluster 11/01/2022). Most disputes in North Kivu, South Kivu, and Ituri come from intercommunal conflicts.

Over seven million people in these three provinces are suffering from food insecurity. They are expected to continue experiencing Crisis (IPC Phase 3) food insecurity until September 2022, given a combination of below-normal harvest, attacks by armed groups preventing the population from accessing their fields, and recurrent displacement (FEWS NET 01/03/2022).