Democratic Republic of the Congo emergency

Moses comes from Ituri Province in the DRC, where communities are clashing with extreme brutality.

To escape the violence, Moses fled to Uganda and now lives in a makeshift, overcrowded refugee settlement.
Photo: ©UNHCR/Duniya Aslam Khan

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Refugees like Moses have been driven from their homes by attacks, arson and killings. Please help them survive and start to put the past behind them.

Shelter

for those who fled with nothing.

Cash Assistance

to pay for food and other life-saving essentials

Protection

of vulnerable women and children.

What’s happening in the DRC?

Intensifying violence and conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) means families are fleeing every day. More than 7 million people are displaced in the country, with many in desperate need of food and shelter. This latest wave of violence is the most recent to hit a country that has experienced humanitarian emergencies and insecurity in recent times.

Alongside the violence and conflict, the DRC continues to experience the impact of devastating flooding, which has damaged or destroyed some 100,000 houses, 1,325 schools, 267 health facilities and large swathes of agricultural land while leaving 2 million people – nearly 60 per cent of them children – in need of assistance.

UNHCR is providing shelter materials and cash grants to displaced families, as well as strengthening the protection of the most vulnerable, but additional support is desperately needed.

What’s causing the violence in the DRC?

The DRC’s long and costly civil war was brought to an end in 2003, but there have been sporadic waves of fighting between different ethnic groups ever since – particularly in the east of the country.

Where are families fleeing?

Many families are crossing the border into Uganda, the Central African Republic and other neighbouring countries. Millions of others are displaced within the DRC.

What happens when people return home?

Returning families often find their property, businesses and schools in ruins – and many members of the community dead. Human rights violations are still widespread, including physical mutilation, killings, sexual violence, arbitrary arrest and detention in inhumane conditions.

Why do we urgently need public support?

At the moment, UNHCR has less than a quarter of the money we need to provide life-saving assistance and protection to refugees and people displaced in the DRC. It’s simply not enough to cope with the scale of the crisis – and we urgently need your support.

Where can I find more data, maps and reports?

Congolese Situation – for latest updates on the crisis overall, including UNHCR situation reports, funding requirements and UNHCR’s support for countries taking in refugees from the DRC.

DRC Operations – UNHCR’s relief work for displaced people inside the DRC.

Did you know that in 2018, UNHCR tracing programmes helped reunite half of all internally displaced Congolese with lost family members?