UNOPS and Germany’s KfW Development Bank have launched a €54.3 million peace initiative to tackle conflict and displacement in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where nearly 6 million people have fled their homes, according to a press release. The five-year Peace Fund project will build schools, markets, health clinics and youth centers in conflict zones while creating jobs through labor-intensive construction work. The program also targets juvenile violence prevention in Kinshasa, directly reaching more than 650,000 people across both regions.
Eastern DRC has endured decades of armed conflict that has torn apart communities and left millions without basic services or economic opportunities. The project takes a different approach by giving vulnerable populations paid work building the very infrastructure their communities need. This strategy offers people an alternative to joining armed groups or criminal networks while strengthening local economies and social bonds.
“By targeting post-conflict areas in the east and the prevention of juvenile violence in Kinshasa, this initiative directly addresses the strategic axes of our 2025-2029 Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework,” said Guylain Nyembo, DRC’s Minister of Planning and Coordination of Development Aid.
UNOPS will handle overall coordination and infrastructure work, while partner organization Interpeace ensures peacebuilding and gender inclusion remain central to all project phases. The program will also establish vocational training and entrepreneurship programs for young people in two Kinshasa neighborhoods.
KfW’s Jonas Blume called the Peace Fund “an excellent example of how targeted investments can contribute to both poverty reduction and local conflict resolution” in fragile settings.
