The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is currently facing one of the most severe humanitarian crises in the world.
Millions of children and families are caught in a relentless cycle of violence, displacement, hunger, and disease, with no clear end in sight.
Since March 2022, escalating violence has devastated communities.
However, this forces over 900,000 people to flee their homes between January and April 2024 alone.
Today, the DRC has become the second-largest internally displaced population crisis worldwide
7.3 million people are uprooted with3.7 million of them children.
Families are seeking refuge wherever they can.
Also, they are crammed into overcrowded displacement camps, abandoned buildings.
This also includes makeshift shelters with little to no access to basic necessities.
With homes, schools, and livelihoods left behind, children like Mbokani have had their education and futures abruptly cut short.
Hunger and Disease on the Rise
The humanitarian disaster is further compounded by a food security crisis, with 25.4 million people suffering from hunger, including 13.2 million children.
Without stable access to food, malnutrition is rising, leaving children vulnerable to illness and death.
Meanwhile, the country is battling a rapidly spreading mpox (formerly known as monkeypox) outbreak, which has been declared a public health emergency by the World Health Organization.
Meanwhile, the DRC accounts for 90% of all global mpox cases.
Also, it further strains fragile healthcare system still reeling from past outbreaks of Ebola and COVID-19.
Children are at the highest risk—70% of mpox cases in the DRC involve children under 15, and they are nearly four times more likely to die from the disease.
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Also, the combination of malnutrition, overcrowded living conditions, and limited access to medical care is creating a deadly storm that threatens thousands of young lives.
