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What the UN is doing in DR Congo

By Eileen Travers
4 February 2025 - The current phase of fighting erupted in late January in the mineral-rich eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo between government forces and the armed M23 group.

Despite security challenges, UN agencies and peacekeepers have pledged to stay and deliver amid rising deaths and injuries alongside an alarming spread of highly contagious mpox and other endemic diseases as the rainy season intensifies.

Here's what you need to know about how the UN, its peacekeepers and humanitarian agencies are helping on the ground in this central African country of 105 million people, many currently facing urgent multipronged crises.

Humanitarian assistance

Operating in DRC since 1960, when the country declared its independence from Belgium's colonial rule and became a UN Member State, UN field agencies have served those in need, from education and lifesaving vaccines to food and shelter for people displaced by the current spiralling violence. The country has been caught in cycles of violence over the decades with an uptick of violence in the early 2000s and the emergence of the M23 armed group.

Even though recent deadly clashes led to the deaths of peacekeepers and the temporary relocation of non-essential UN staff from North Kivu in the eastern region last week, the UN emergency relief agency, OCHA, reports that teams are currently on the ground, where they say needs are growing.

Just a few details for context:

• According to OCHA, 21 million people needed humanitarian assistance before the current clashes erupted. That number now climbs daily as violence spreads and M23 groups seize cities and towns. Hundreds of thousands of people are fleeing clashes in Goma, Sake and towns in South Kivu near densely populated camps housing tens of thousands already displaced by the sporadic violence in the restive region.
• 7 million are on the move across the country with some 700,000 displaced in North and South Kivu.

Food to shelter

In a deteriorating environment, food insecurity is on the rise as other health, shelter and living conditions worsen. For example:

• Currently, 2.7 million people face severe food insecurity in the eastern towns of Ituri and North and South Kivu, OCHA reported. As such, the agency is currently working with such partners as the UN food agency (WFP), UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to deliver lifesaving aid, from groceries to medical supplies and services.
• The UN refugee agency, UNCHR, is providing protection and assistance to those forced to flee.
• The UN human rights agency, OHCHR, is connecting those in need with UN partners.
• Meanwhile, the UN migration organization, IOM, is supporting displaced and host communities in and around Goma by providing emergency shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene services and camp coordination and management services. It is also monitoring population movements through its displacement tracking matrix, which informs humanitarian agencies of critical information for effective response efforts.

Public health 'nightmare'

• The UN health agency reported that repeated mass displacement has created a public health "nightmare" with ideal conditions for the spread of many endemic diseases, from cholera to mpox, in camps and communities around North and South Kivu. WHO teams remain in place to deliver much-needed healthcare services as hospitals are overwhelmed by growing numbers of patients injured by the ongoing violence. Thousands of doses of mpox vaccines are stockpiled and ready to be administered.
• The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) is responding to urgent needs, including deliveries of emergency medical kits to hospitals in Goma to treat more than 50,000 people affected by the violence.
• A breakdown in healthcare infrastructure has also led maternal mortality rates to soar, with three women dying every hour from pregnancy or childbirth complications, and recurrent kidnappings, rape and exploitation continue to be wielded as weapons of war against women and girls, according to the UN sexual and reproductive health agency, UNFPA.
• While the agency suspended staff travel to camps for displaced people due to the security crisis, UNFPA continues to provide lifesaving support, from mobile clinics to rapidly adapting to respond to the needs of the newly displaced. However, due to swiftly growing needs, these and other UN agencies are calling for urgent support to fund emergency operations.