Democratic Republic of Congo

The Democratic Republic of Congo has suffered decades of armed conflicts and political tensions, population displacements, as well as epidemics such as Covid-19, Ebola and cholera.

Years of bad governance and armed conflicts in the Democratic Republic of Congo have left the country facing extreme poverty.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is in the middle of a severe humanitarian crisis. Over five million people are facing emergency levels of food insecurity, and over three million children are fighting life-threatening hunger.

The coronavirus pandemic and the measures to try and contain it, have exacerbated the extreme poverty and already precarious living conditions for many communities. Supply chains have been affected, and basic food prices have soared. There’s also been a rise in gender-based violence compared to 2019.

Country facts

585,855
Action Against Hunger's programmes reached over 585,000 people in the DRC in 2020.
86.8M
The DRC has a population of over 85 million people.
42.7%
More than 40% of Congolese children under five suffer from malnutrition.

Action Against Hunger’s programmes in the DRC

Action Against Hunger’s work in the Democratic Republic of Congo focuses on the hunger crisis, sexual and reproductive health and mental health support.

In 2020 our work involved:

supporting vulnerable people who struggle to access a balanced diet
working with the government at both national and local level to address why communities can’t access the right food
supporting three health centres during the coronavirus pandemic, helping to implement preventative measures, creating hand washing points, and donating essential PPE
providing mental health support to health professionals and pyschoeducation training sessions

Georgine with her 27-month-old son, David who was treated at an Action Against Hunger-supported health centre for severe acute malnutrition in Democratic Republic of Congo.

Treating life-threatening hunger in the DRC

In Ituri, Democratic Republic of Congo, ongoing fighting between different communities has destroyed homes and livelihoods – causing widespread hunger.

Read about our work