Oxfam Ireland Core Country: DRC
Country Statistics
| Population: | 65.8 million |
| Year of Independence: | 1960 |
| Infant mortality rate (per 1,000 births): | 65.5 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Life expectancy at birth: | 57.2 years |
| People living with HIV and AIDS: | 4.2% /1.1 million (2003 est.) |
| Literacy (people aged 15 and over that are literate): | 65.5% (2003 est.) |
| Population below poverty line: | N/A% |
| Currency: | Congolese Franc |
Despite its vast potential wealth, DR Congo is one of the poorest countries in the world. Years of conflict 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 the D.R. Congo
- 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
- Rape is used as a systematic weapon of war
Background to the conflict
The 1998-2003 conflict in the D.R. Congo saw huge loss of life. Four million people died, some as a direct result of the violence, but many more from starvation and disease.
The war was between government forces, backed by Angola, Zimbabwe and Namibia, and rebel factions, supported by Rwanda and Uganda. Fighting was fuelled by the D.R. Congo’s vast mineral resources and by the flow of small arms into the country.
Continued instability
Despite the signing of a peace deal in 2002, and democratic elections in 2006, there is still instability in the east of the country.
A quarter of a million people have been forced to flee their homes since late August 2008 as a result of intense fighting between the forces of rebel general Laurent Nkunda and Congolese army soldiers and their allied militia. People have dispersed over a vast, inhospitable area without access to shelter, water, food, and medicines.
The fighting has severely hampered the ability of aid agencies to reach those in need.
Oxfam in the DRC
Oxfam is assisting over half a million people throughout eastern DRC. In camps with cramped conditions, it’s vital to ensure that everyone has enough clean water. Without it, diseases will spread quickly and more people will die. At an international level, Oxfam is calling for the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC to receive the resources it needs to effectively protect civilians and ensure humanitarian access.
Oxfam’s response to the current crisis »
Oxfam Blog from DRC
Yao Bongoma is a communications officer for Oxfam GB in Democratic Republic of Congo. Yao recently travelled to Congo's violent eastern region to report on Oxfam's reponse there and to collect stories from communities and individuals about the challenges they face.
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€12 / £9 can provide three life-saving buckets.
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