The humanitarian situation in eastern DRC continues to deteriorate, exacerbated by widespread violence, climate shocks, poverty and malnutrition, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in its latest operational update.
According to WHO, the DRC is facing the worst outbreaks of cholera since 2017 and measles since 2019, as well as an emerging outbreak of monkeypox – Mpox (formerly known as Monkeypox). As of mid-June, more than 9,000 cases of smallpox had been recorded in 23 of the country’s 26 provinces, including in camps hosting internally displaced people in Goma, North Kivu. The risk of rapid spread of the disease in these camps is very high due to the lack of water and sanitation, posing a major threat to both displaced people and aid workers.
In terms of food security, the latest analysis of the IPC (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification) reveals that 40% of the total population of the DRC, or about 40 million people, is chronically food insecure. This figure, one of the highest in the world in absolute terms, requires long-term interventions to address the root causes of food insecurity in the country. The latest Global Report on Food Crises designates the DRC as one of the largest food crises in the world.
In addition, 6.9 million people are displaced in the eastern provinces, out of a total of 7.3 million displaced across the country, according to the latest available data.
