URGENT: EBOLA OUTBREAK

The DRC continues to face an acute and complex humanitarian crisis in 2023. For example: 5.7 million people live in internally displaced persons camps (including 3.3 million children); 1.1 million people, including 410,000 girls and 30,000 boys, are gender-based violence survivors or at risk of experiencing gender-based violence; four million people live with a disability (50% of which are children); an estimated seven million children aged five to 17 are out of school as well as an estimated four million children aged 6 to 11 being out of school; and the DRC is ranked fifth in the world of countries most vulnerable to climate change in terms of their adaptive capacity. In regard to conflict specifically, more than 120 armed groups are active in the provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu, Ituri, and Tanganyika. In 2022, from January to June, the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office (UNJHRO) documented 3,471 human rights violations and abuses – 90% of which were committed in areas of armed conflict. Moreover, the majority of these human rights violations and abuses (60%) were committed by armed groups. In regard to health and nutrition specifically, half of the population doesn’t have access to quality healthcare. Statistically, there are 0.28 doctors and 1.19 nurses / midwives per 10,000 people only. Moreover, the DRC is one of the countries in the world with the highest infant mortality (70 per 1,000 live births), which is due to a low vaccination coverage across the country. In addition, approximately 26.4 million people are in situations of acute food insecurity across the country. In 2023, an estimated 3.6 million people will suffer from severe acute malnutrition and nearly 1.7 million children will suffer from moderate acute malnutrition. Regarding the economic and development situation of the DRC, the country ranked 179th out of 191 countries in terms of the human development index in 2022. An estimated 60 million people in the DRC live in extreme poverty with the number of people considered poor increasing by nearly 1.5 million people per year. This is due to strong population pressure as well as a weak distribution of the benefits of growth across the country. Moreover, 75% of children (or 40 million children) living in the DRC are living in multidimensional poverty, which is suffering deprivations in terms of health, nutrition, education, protection, housing, water, sanitation, and hygiene. Hugh Kinsella Cunningham / Save the Children

Once a two-story family home, Amal*’s house in South Lebanon now stands in ruins. The structure’s lower floors have completely collapsed, leaving behind gaping holes and piles of concrete due to the recent conflict. I AM Production / Save the Children

Sacha Myers / Save the Children Sacha Myers / Save the Children