The situation
Years of conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises:
- An estimated 5.4 million killed as a consequence of the war since 1998, most from preventable diseases
- Up to 1 million people have been living in camps for displaced people within DRC
- Nearly 1 million more people are displaced from their own homes and living in other villages
- A critical lack of health care and education
- Malnutrition is widespread
- People have lost virtually everything – family, friends, homes and their means of making a living
Latest assessments from the Oxfam team in DRC indicate that the humanitarian crisis is still dramatically severe:
- There have been recent reports of armed men committing reprisal killings and rape of civilians, blocking off roadways, in some cases burning down houses and chasing people away.
- In parts of Lubero, where most people are subsistence farmers, civilians can barely access their fields to harvest due to widespread insecurity and looting.
A lack of peacekeeping resources on the ground is also hampering efforts to protect civilians:
“More than four months after the UN Security Council approved 3,000 additional peacekeepers, not one extra soldier has arrived. Until the reinforcements come, MONUC needs to ensure that the troops on the ground are doing all in their power to protect people. Civilians need more foot patrols in towns and along the main roads in order to be kept as safe as possible”.
Nicole Widdersheim, Head of Oxfam International’s New York office
Oxfam’s response
Oxfam is providing water, sanitation and life-saving hygiene promotion to dispersed groups of people on the move, as well as larger groups of people sheltering in specific areas. Throughout eastern DRC, Oxfam is already assisting half a million people. Teams have been sent to Lubero in North Kivu and Bukavu in South Kivu to plan the scale-up and reach an additional 250,000 people in need of clean water and basic sanitation.
How your donation can help
- £10/€11.50 can buy 6 buckets to help families get access to water.
- £15/€17 can buy a hygiene kit for a displaced family
- £20/ €22.50 can buy three tarpaulins or plastic sheets to provide basic emergency shelter
- £100/€114 can provide temporary shelter for two families
How can the public donate?
Donate online
Donate to your local Oxfam Ireland shop
Call us: 1850 30 40 55 (in ROI) or 0800 0 30 40 55 (in NI)
