Millions face deepening hunger crisis in the DRC as needs outpace response

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) have warned that the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to face one of the world’s largest and most severe hunger crises, according to a joint press release issued from Kinshasa. Over 26.5 million people—nearly one in four Congolese—are struggling to meet their basic food needs, based on the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis update. More than 3.6 million people are in emergency conditions, facing critical food shortages that threaten their survival without urgent assistance. The two agencies stress that humanitarian needs are far outpacing the response capacity. They are calling for urgent and sustained investment to prevent further deterioration.

Although the latest projections show a slight improvement compared with previous estimates, the situation remains above the levels recorded in the September–December 2025 period, when 24.8 million people faced crisis or worse levels of hunger. The most affected provinces are North Kivu, South Kivu, Ituri, and Tanganyika. Conflict in these regions continues to uproot families, destroy livelihoods, disrupt markets, and limit access to farmland. More than 7.8 million people are internally displaced across the country. Many have lost their homes, fields, livestock, and sources of income.

Persistently high food prices, disrupted supply chains, and recurrent disease outbreaks—including cholera, measles, and Mpox—are pushing fragile communities closer to the brink. An estimated 4.18 million children under five require treatment for acute malnutrition between January and June 2026. Of these, more than 1.3 million children are suffering or expected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition. Over 1.5 million pregnant and breastfeeding women are projected to be acutely malnourished. These figures compound health risks for both mothers and children.

In 2026, FAO is already supporting 55,500 crisis-affected families in North Kivu, South Kivu, Ituri, and Tanganyika through a $10 million allocation from the DRC Humanitarian Fund. This assistance includes seeds, tools, livelihood inputs, and cash-based support where feasible. FAO urgently requires $163 million to scale up this life-saving agricultural support before critical planting windows are missed.

“Every missed agricultural season increases dependence on humanitarian assistance,” said Athman Mravili, FAO Representative a.i. “When families receive seeds, tools and timely livelihood support, they can produce food within weeks, protect their dignity and avoid falling deeper into hunger. But this support must arrive before planting windows close.”

Since January 2026, WFP’s emergency food and cash assistance has reached nearly 1.3 million people, only a fraction of those in need in the most affected eastern provinces. Just 389,000 children and mothers received nutrition assistance between January and March 2026, far below the scale required. Limited humanitarian access due to insecurity, combined with a funding shortfall of $214 million through October, continues to constrain the response.

“Far from easing, the crisis has become entrenched and increasingly complex, trapping millions of vulnerable households in a cycle of persistent need,” said David Stevenson, WFP Representative.

FAO and WFP reiterate the urgent need for a dual approach that combines life-saving assistance with longer-term support to agriculture, livelihoods, and food systems, while ensuring safe and sustained humanitarian access.