Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC): Current Acute Food Insecurity Overview June 2017 - December 2017
Publisher: Integrated Food Security Phase Classification
Date: 2017
Topics: Humanitarian Assistance, Livelihoods
Countries: Congo (DRC)
11% of the total rural population of the DRC (71,719,669) are classified in IPC Phases 3 and 4, an increase of almost 30% of the number of people in acute food insecurity and livelihood crisis compared to the previous year.
HIGHLIGHTS
- In total, the number of people in acute food insecurity and livelihood crisis (IPC Phases 3 and 4) is estimated at 7.7 million people in the rural areas covered by this 15th cycle IPC Analysis. These populations are in need of urgent help aimed at saving lives through holistic assistance for basic needs (food, water, medicine, housing, emergency agricultural production, etc.).
- Comparing the 14th cycle from June 2016 to the 15th cycle of June 2017, there is a serious deterioration in food security in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In one year (5.9 million in June 2016 and 7.7 million in June 2017), the increase in people with severe food deficits and acute malnutrition at high or above normal levels was higher than 30%.
- The main factor underlying the deterioration of food security is the humanitarian crisis in the Kasai region and the extension of inter-communal conflicts in the Tanganyika region and in the eastern part of the country. Some aggravating factors causing the deterioration of food security, include the incidence of poverty, which affects almost 65% of rural households, internal displacement of about 3.7 million people, depreciation of the currency against the US dollar and the loss of purchasing power of households, in addition to recurring conflicts and malnutrition well above the national average.
- Efforts by the Government (and its technical and financial partners) in the process of pacifying the Kasai and Tanganyika regions and the eastern part of the country remain a major asset in the effort to mitigate the immediate effects of conflict in all its forms, to support livelihoods, and to address underlying causes by protecting lives and avoiding acute/severe malnutrition.