D.R Congo Situation Report: Humanitarian Response Scale up – Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu Provinces (1 to 31 August 2023) – Democratic Republic of the Congo

Humanitarian context

• Ongoing fighting and recurrent natural disasters in DRC have displaced around 5,8 million people in North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri provinces.
Many of those who have been displaced are living in overcrowded sites and collective shelters, increasing women and girls’ risks of unintended pregnancies, unattended obstetrical complications, maternal deaths, unmet basic needs and gender-based violence.

• Around 7,4 million people need health assistance in the east of the country, where the health system is at breaking point as a result of overlapping outbreaks of COVID-19, measles, polio, meningitis, and monkey pox. Yellow fever, cholera and malaria are all on the rise due to a lack of access to safe water and sanitation for those on the move.

• On 16 June 2023, an IASC System-Wide Scale-Up was activated for eastern DRC to strengthen the response of humanitarian actors.

Situation overview

Sexual and reproductive health

Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health services remains extremely challenging for women and girls. An estimated 220,000 women are currently pregnant with 55,000 women expected to deliver in the next 3 months. They urgently need access to maternal and newborn health services.
Even before the escalation of the current violence, the country’s health infrastructure was weak, and DRC had one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world.
The escalation in violence has further compromised access to maternal and newborn care, including emergency obstetric care. Women also have limited access to family planning and are unable to obtain post-exposure prophylaxis for HIV, in part due to stock outs and costs, and a lack of awareness about available services.

Gender-based violence

Sexual violence has soared in Eastern DRC in 2023. Women and girls living in displacement sites have reported that they are at risk of rape and sexual assault, exacerbated by the need to travel outside of camps in search of supplies for their basic needs and for domestic purposes and work. There are also reports of displaced women and girls who are forced to trade sex for survival, including in IDP sites. For survivors of sexual violence, access to comprehensive medical and psychosocial support is limited, especially for those seeking judicial and legal services or socio-economic support.