At a press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Cynthia Jones, the World Food Programme (WFP) Country Director for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), warned of a rapidly worsening hunger crisis across the country’s conflict-hit eastern provinces. The latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report shows that the number of people facing emergency levels of hunger has nearly doubled compared to last year, driven primarily by escalating violence and displacement caused by armed groups.
Jones described the severe humanitarian situation in areas under the control of the M23 armed group, which has taken over territory equivalent to the size of Switzerland. This has led to massive population movements, including forced returns as displacement sites were dismantled. Families returning home have found their houses destroyed and their farmland looted or occupied, while ongoing fighting continues to displace thousands more. Currently, 5.2 million people are displaced in eastern DRC, including 1.6 million in 2025 alone, making it one of the world’s largest displacement crises.
The ongoing conflict has also disrupted essential services and markets, severely impacting healthcare, education, and banking systems. With banks closed and basic systems paralyzed, communities are struggling to access food, income, and essential services. This breakdown in infrastructure has worsened livelihoods and deepened food insecurity for millions already affected by years of instability.
According to WFP, one in three people in the provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu, Ituri, and Tanganyika—over 10 million individuals—are facing crisis or emergency levels of hunger. Within this number, around 3 million people are experiencing emergency-level food insecurity, meaning families are skipping meals, selling off remaining livestock, and exhausting all coping mechanisms. Malnutrition among children is alarmingly high, with reports indicating that in some areas, over 60% of children are malnourished.
Despite the difficult operating conditions, including poor infrastructure, insecurity, and the rainy season, WFP has managed to assist 3.4 million vulnerable people in eastern DRC this year through emergency food aid, both in cash and in-kind, and has supported nearly 1 million malnourished women and children through nutrition programmes. However, severe funding shortages are now forcing the organization to scale back assistance, reducing monthly support from over one million people to just 600,000 since October.
WFP urgently requires US$349 million to sustain emergency food and nutrition operations over the next six months. Without immediate funding, the agency warns of a total pipeline break by February or March 2026, which would result in a complete halt to food assistance in eastern DRC.
Jones also highlighted the urgent need for improved humanitarian access, noting that the Goma and Bukavu airports—key humanitarian supply routes—have been closed for months. WFP is calling for the establishment of a humanitarian airbridge or cross-border flight operations between eastern DRC and western Rwanda to ensure life-saving aid can continue to reach affected areas.
Concluding her remarks, Jones emphasized that behind these numbers are real people—children, women, and men—who continue to endure the devastating effects of violence and hunger. She appealed to donors, partners, and the international community to step up support, warning that without urgent action, millions of Congolese risk falling deeper into crisis.
