Democratic Republic of the Congo | World Food Programme

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) hosts one of the largest hunger crises in the world. Hunger and violence fuel one another, with armed conflict and widespread displacement prevailing for the past 25 years. Multiple other health, weather and economic crises compound humanitarian challenges.

North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri are provinces where war and unrest have been the most protracted. Countrywide, 7.8  million people have fled their homes and lost their means of livelihood.  

A total 28 million people are experiencing Crisis and Emergency levels of food insecurity, and an estimated 4.5 million children are acutely malnourished.

Around 1.1 million  Congolese nationals are refugees in neighbouring countries. At the same time, DRC – already struggling with internal conflict – hosts over 518,000 refugees and asylum seekers who have fled violence in neighbouring countries, mainly the Central African Republic, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan.

The World Food Programme supported 5.3 million people with food, cash, malnutrition support and resilience interventions in 2024. In the context of escalating conflict, fluctuating food security and severe funding shortages, WFP is revising its planning to meet increasing needs.

What WFP is doing in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Crisis response: WFP reached 5.3 million people with life-saving support, including food, cash and nutrition assistance in 2024. There was a particular emphasis on reaching women, who comprised 53 percent of recipients. WFP’s efforts in addressing the hunger crisis are evolving to provide life-saving food assistance while transitioning towards development activities and long-term, food-security initiatives.
Resilience in local communities: WFP, in partnership with FAO, UNHCR and UNICEF, works with local communities to improve resilience to shocks, promote self-reliance and bring economic recovery. WFP helps smallholder farmers improve production capacities and business processes, which also prepares them for climate-related shocks, through training on climate-smart agricultural techniques. Literacy programmes improve women’s business and income opportunities. Construction and infrastructure rehabilitation projects give local workers an income while maintaining essential food-systems infrastructure.
Nutrition: WFP runs programmes to both prevent and treat acute malnutrition. At food and cash distribution sites, children under 5 and breastfeeding and pregnant mothers are assessed for signs of malnutrition and are referred to treatment or prevention programmes when necessary. Specialized nutritious foods are distributed regularly at health centres. WFP provides nutritious food to children aged 6 to 23 months, and to pregnant and breastfeeding women, in areas where there is a high prevalence of global acute malnutrition and there are aggravating factors such as high food insecurity, health epidemics and population movement. WFP also runs awareness-raising sessions, including cooking demonstrations, to help families maintain healthy diets and lifestyles.
School meals: WFP has provided school meals in DRC for over 20 years, in post-conflict and chronically food-insecure areas. Warm meals every school day stave off the risk of malnutrition among vulnerable children. The meals also help keep children in schools, which in turn reduces the risk of child labour and early marriage. School attendance and social mixing also helps to build peace among communities healing from years of hostilities. WFP buys food from local farmer organizations or suppliers, creating a local supply chain and a stable market for farmers.
United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS): The United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) provides the humanitarian community, donors and diplomatic missions with safe, flexible, efficient and cost-effective air transport to locations across a country the same size as Western Europe. In April 2023, UNHAS introduced a fleet of orange-painted helicopters to distinguish them from others and improve the safety of operations in conflict-affected eastern DRC. Other safety measures include ongoing access negotiations and community engagement.
Support to humanitarian coordination: As lead of the Logistics Cluster, WFP facilitates an uninterrupted supply of relief assistance across all sectors. WFP also provides transport and storage services for partners. The WFP-led Food Security Cluster ensures partners have access to reliable assessments and studies to inform decision-making. This includes the annual Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Assessment, which provides the humanitarian community with crucial information on food-insecurity levels across the country.

Publications

In focus

As hunger soars in DRC, WFP regional chief urges joint action to reverse course

Story | 20 May 2025

Heading home: DRC’s conflict-displaced face spiking hunger and smashed lives

Story | 2 April 2025

DRC refugee surge strains humanitarian support in Burundi and Uganda

Story | 20 March 2025

In crisis-hit parts of Africa, WFP school meals offer a vital lifeline to kids - and their families

Story | 28 February 2025

Displaced again: People forced to flee fear hunger as violence grips the east of DRC

Story | 21 February 2025

In photos: WFP urges action as conflict pushes displacement and hunger in east DRC

Story | 29 January 2025

Partners and donors

Achieving Zero Hunger is the work of many. Our work in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is made possible by the support and collaboration of our donors, including:

Canada Congo D.R. European Commission France Germany

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Operations in Democratic Republic of the Congo

Democratic Republic of the Congo Country Strategic Plan (2021–2025)

CD02 - Country Strategic Plan (CSP)

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Contacts

Office

116, Boulevard du 30 Juin, Immeuble MIBA – Gombe, Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Kinshasa,
Congo - Kinshasa

Phone

Switchboard (+243) (0) 817 006 714 and 815 552 199/2499/2899/2399

Email

claude.kalinga@wfp.org

For media inquiries

claude.kalinga@wfp.org

What WFP is doing in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Crisis response

Resilience in local communities

Nutrition

School meals

United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS)

Support to humanitarian coordination

Publications

Annual Country Reports - Democratic Republic of the Congo

Diagnostic report on Gender, Social Cohesion & Socio-Economic Resilience: evidence from South Kivu

Fill the Nutrient Gap - Southern Africa

Summary of evaluation evidence: Partnership with Governments in Southern Africa

Unlocking Sustainable Solutions through Systems Thinking: Cases from Southern Africa

Summary of evaluation evidence: Home-Grown School Feeding