Democratic Republic of Congo
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, HI pprovides support to people affected by the humanitarian crises in the East of the country, notably by facilitating access to mental health and rehabilitation care.
Amani and her daughter Inaya have fled the violence and are living in the Bulengo camp for displaced persons. | © E. N'Sapu / HI
Actions in process
In the DRC, HI provides support for the most vulnerable populations in areas affected by a chronic humanitarian crisis, notably by improving access to healthcare for people with disabilities and displaced people. Our teams bring medical and psychosocial assistance to vulnerable populations in North Kivu, including refugees and host communities. They offer psychological first aid and psychosocial support to people who have suffered violence to help them deal with the trauma. They also work to identify the populations’ priority needs and train community agents to raise their peers in risk awareness and available services.
To improve access to humanitarian services, HI is rehabilitating roads and improving road infrastructure. A storage and transport service is provided to other humanitarian actors who use it to deliver services and goods to the affected populations. The organisation is also running a pilot project to set up a supply chain for medical products in North Kivu, with optimum temperature control and maintenance of the cold chain.
HI also provides prostheses, orthoses and other mobility aids to people with disabilities, enabling them to regain a degree of independence and to be better integrated into social life. Our teams work with local actors and health centres to provide quality rehabilitation services. They also work with young children who have experienced episodes of malnutrition, offering individual stimulation therapy sessions aimed at encouraging development through play. Parents are trained in good practices, which they can replicate when their child returns home.
In Kinshasa, HI continues to work with children aged 0 to 12 who either have a disability or are at risk of developing one. Teams facilitate their access to rehabilitation care and health centres for early intervention to prevent developmental delays. They also train health, education and social workers in how to support children with disabilities.
Finally, HI works in the field of inclusive education to improve access to school for children with disabilities, particularly girls. Our teams work with communities and educational stakeholders to improve the accessibility of schools and provide appropriate support for the children.
Areas of intervention
concretely
Situation of the country
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is facing a major humanitarian and health crisis that affected more than 26.4 million people in 2022, including 14.2 million children. The crises are the consequence of decades of local and regional insecurity and instability, particularly affecting the eastern provinces of the country.
The DRC, which is the second largest country in Africa, has a history of power struggles over its wealth. This is still the root cause of most of its troubles. Over the years, armed conflict and inter-community violence have left communities extremely vulnerable. The end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023 were marked by the resurgence of the M23 armed group in the province of North Kivu, triggering massive population displacements. In the Kasai region, inter-community conflicts caused by increased competition for access to political and customary power persisted throughout 2022, as did tensions over the control of economic and land resources. Finally, in the Maï-Ndombe province in the west of the country, a new crisis emerged in June 2022, with violent inter-community clashes in the Kwamouth territory. These clashes are thought to be mainly due to land issues and customary taxes. The violence has gradually spread to the neighbouring provinces of Kwilu and Kwango, with the first signs of trouble in Kinshasa.
Multi-sectoral humanitarian needs persist, particularly in health (an estimated 3.6 million people are suffering from acute malnutrition in 2023), access to water and hygiene, food security and protection. Since 2018, there have also been repeated outbreaks of Ebola, measles, cholera, Covid-19 and monkeypox (mpox) in several provinces, undermining an already weakened population and health system.
There are still no signs of the significant improvements in the socio-economic situation long hoped for by DRC’s population, despite the obvious presence of resources. Progress is visible in terms of life expectancy, school enrolment and gross national income per capita. However, this discreet progress in socio-economic indicators does not reflect the reality of much of this vast country, and inequalities remain a major cause for concern in most places.
Number of HI staff: 137 people
Programmed opened in: 1995
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