DR Congo hunger crisis at 'highest level' as conflict rages
"The humanitarian situation in the DRC is deteriorating at an alarming rate. Families who were already struggling to feed themselves are now facing an even harsher reality," said the WFP's regional director Eric Perdison.
In DR Congo, this female farmer harvests yams with her family in her field in Shasha on February 27, 2025. She fled the conflict and sought refuge in Akitembo, South Kivu, and she is among the residents who have already returned to their village.
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KINSHASA - The number of people experiencing hunger in the Democratic Republic of Congo has soared to an unprecedented level as conflict ravages the country's east, United Nations agencies said on Thursday.
A resurgence of violence, particularly driven by the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group's advance in the DRC's east in recent months, has amplified a humanitarian crisis spurred by conflict, economic instability and surging food prices, the United Nation's World Food Programme (WFP) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in a statement.
"The humanitarian situation in the DRC is deteriorating at an alarming rate. Families who were already struggling to feed themselves are now facing an even harsher reality," said the WFP's regional director Eric Perdison.
The agencies' latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis found "the highest number ever recorded of acutely food insecure populations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo".
The IPC is a standard used by humanitarian and UN agencies comprised of five levels of food insecurity: minimal, stressed, crisis, emergency, and famine.
"An alarming 28 million people in DRC are now facing acute hunger," marking a rise of 2.5 million people since violence resurged in December, the agencies said, with the situation at a severity level 3 and higher.
There are 3.9 million people among those facing hunger who have breached the emergency level -- just below famine, the agencies said.
Internally displaced people fleeing conflict are the most vulnerable.
"The situation is particularly dire in the conflict-affected eastern provinces of DRC, where families have lost access to their livestock and livelihoods," it said.
"Armed clashes continue to disrupt food production, and trade routes, while humanitarian access remains limited, as security risks hinder the ability to deliver essential assistance," it added.
The instability has also contributed to soaring food prices, with staples like maize flour and palm oil subjected to price increases of up to 37 per cent since December, the agencies said.