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DRC (Congo) Central Africa

Millions of people have been uprooted by war and conflict. Your donation can change lives. Please give now.

Years of conflict in the DRC have taken their toll on the hundreds of thousands of IDPs. Families live in fear, continually forced to relocate to find saftey, protection and an income to support their children.

Our target is $300,000

Overview

The civil war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has become the world's deadliest conflict since World War II, resulting in the deaths of more than 5.4 million people. Fuelled by struggles for political power and mineral wealth, fighting has flared regularly since 1996, most recently in the eastern Kivu provinces.

There have been 52 attacks on Congolese villages since January 2011, taking the total number of people displaced by violence to over 1.7 million - of these, around 480,000 are assisted by UNHCR.

Despite the millions who are internally displaced, the situation is made worse by the chronic and rampant sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) against women and girls which remains one of the biggest challenged.

UNHCR is distributing food and relief to the thousands of families seeking safety in the larger towns in Orientale Province. At the same time, we have Emergency Response Teams organising transport, shelter, food and water for those who have fled across the border into South Sudan, Uganda and the Central African Republic. Robbed of their land, livelihoods and support networks, these families are highly vulnerable to exploitation, violence and disease.

Note: Should the funds raised exceed the amount required to meet the immediate and longer term needs of the people in the affected areas, Australia for UNHCR will direct donations to our Emergency Programs for Refugees to enable us to rapidly address future emergencies as they occur.

How we help

UNHCR's work in the DRC focuses primarily on five main areas:

Creating a favourable protection environment for IDPs and Congolese refugees;
Installing and maintaining fair protection processes and documentation;
Security from violence and exploitation;
Providing of basic needs and essential services and
Ensuring community participation and self-management.

UNHCR runs three camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) near the city of Goma where families receive high energy biscuits, plastic sheeting, building materials and a plot of land on which to erect a provisional shelter.

UNHCR also provides accommodation and relief for Congolese refugees crossing into Uganda. During the fighting season (September-December) an Emergency Response Team is stationed at Ugandan border crossings to register new arrivals and provide hot meals, water, sanitation, emergency shelter and medical care. From there, families can choose to be transferred to refugee facilities further inside Uganda, such as Nakivale refugee settlement.

UNHCR is also supporting the class for vigorous action against perpetrators of human rights violations, and responding to sexual and gender-based violence.

Your support will help us provide protection and security for the most vulnerable people in the midst of this crisis. Please, donate today.

Meeting the MDGs

UNHCR is meeting the following MDGs in its emergency response in the DRC:

	MDG 1: In the DRC, UNHCR is working to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger by providing nutritional supplements and therapeutic feeding to children suffering from malnutrition.
	MDG 4: UNHCR is also working to reduce child mortality by improving the health and safety of mothers and babies through the provision of emergency nutrition and healthcare.
	MDG 6: UNHCR is working to combat malaria and the spread of disease by distributing mosquito nets, conducting health education, and ensuring that effective sanitation processes are in place.

News

DRC: Congolese victims of sexual violence call for help from the international community - 16 March 2011

MUGUNGA III CAMP, Democratic Republic of the Congo, March 16 (UNHCR) – Marie* was first raped three years ago during a raid on her village that left her husband and 10 children dead – she was about 70 years old at the time.

DRC: Continuing insecurity threatens civilians in North Kivu - 7 February 2011

KALINGA, Democratic Republic of the Congo, February 7 (UNHCR) – Simmering insecurity continues to force Congolese civilians in North Kivu to flee their homes and seek security in places like Kalinga, one of many camps for the internally displaced in the volatile region.

DR CONGO: UN mission chief concerned over violence in North Kivu - 22 September 2010

The head of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) today voiced deep concern over continuing violence in the eastern province of North Kivu, where the Government is investigating a series of recent killings.

DR CONGO: Fresh clashes in DR Congo’s North Kivu province displace thousands - 13 July 2010

Clashes between the army in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and remnants of a Ugandan insurgency forced an estimated 20,000 people to flee their villages in the troubled North Kivu province of the vast African country, the United Nations reported today.