The plan outlines immediate priorities, including emergency shelter, food, health care, and protection services, while also promoting social inclusion, resilience and lasting solutions for the displaced
GENEVA, Switzerland, May 6, 2025/APO Group/ --
As the humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to worsen, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and 107 partners are appealing for $781 million to continue providing urgent and life-saving support in 2025 to more than 1 million Congolese refugees and asylum-seekers in neighbouring countries and over 1 million people in local communities across seven countries.
The updated Regional Refugee Response Plan (RRP) for the DRC situation highlights the alarming deterioration of conditions in eastern DRC, where the surge in armed violence has continued to displace communities at an unprecedented rate since January this year. Shrinking resources and recent funding cuts are severely disrupting the delivery of critical aid.
Neighbouring countries, who are generously receiving thousands of refugees daily, are struggling to keep up with the pace and scale of new arrivals. Since January, nearly 150,000 people have fled the DRC, surpassing the total number who fled during the whole of 2024. The majority, approximately 95 per cent, have fled eastern DRC and sought refuge in Burundi and Uganda while 8,000 have arrived in the Republic of the Congo fleeing intercommunal violence in western DRC.
Displacement inside the DRC has also reached unprecedented levels. By the end of 2024, an estimated 7.8 million people were internally displaced – the highest figure on record.
The human toll of the crisis is devastating – entire communities displaced, families torn apart, and civilians exposed to extreme human rights violations, including sexual abuse, arbitrary killings and forced recruitment. Women, children and people with disabilities are especially vulnerable, with many arriving across borders traumatized and in urgent need of protection and care.
"Once again, it is families, and particularly women and children, who are forced to run for their lives when violence prevails. Host communities continue to show remarkable generosity by welcoming them, but they cannot respond alone," said Chansa Kapaya, UNHCR Regional Director for Southern Africa and the Regional Coordinator for the DRC refugee situation. "The international community must urgently step up and support the efforts of host governments and all humanitarian organizations to provide critical protection and assistance."
Despite the commendable efforts of neighbouring countries to receive and assist new arrivals, transit and reception facilities are overcrowded, under-resourced and struggling to keep pace with the growing needs for safe shelter, water and sanitation, medical care and other essential services.
The DRC RRP appeal covers Angola, Burundi, the Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, and Zambia. The plan outlines immediate priorities, including emergency shelter, food, health care, and protection services, while also promoting social inclusion, resilience and lasting solutions for the displaced.
Despite mounting needs, funding for the DRC remains critically low. In 2024, UNHCR and partners received less than half of required funds, forcing humanitarian actors to make difficult trade-offs, including reducing food rations, scaling back essential services, and limiting support for extremely vulnerable groups.
The RRP complements the humanitarian response plan for the DRC itself, released in February 2025. Together they represent a coordinated effort to address both the immediate and long-term needs of one of the world’s most urgent yet overlooked crises.
"Without increased funding, frontline partners will face impossible choices, such as shutting down health services, cutting food assistance, or leaving survivors of sexual violence without support,” warned Kapaya. “When refugees are unable to access the support and protection they need in countries where they seek safety, they are often compelled to continue their perilous journey in search of dignity and hope elsewhere.”
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
The Usa Govt as the worlds major superpower could do what it takes but for goodness sake
the legit rights of the Somaliland recognition quest should not be forgotten. If Britain, France and the EU fail to act on the Somaliland recognition and wiggle tails becoming backburners for whatever
policies, then the major responsibility should not also escape the wild West US cowboys!.
With John Kerry now the new State Secretary, perhaps, the extended official invitation of he
President DR Silaanyo taking place soon would see more realistic focus on the Somaliland full recognition amongst other topics of interests to both countries.
Cheers.
Or better still the Yankees.
Cheers.
Your need some money to buy food or a cup of coffee?
Talk the talks and walks of the real world mate otherwise shut up.
Cheers.
Nothing has improved except that the US want to sell more armies to war torn Somalia as that suits their bottom line. Somalis from Somalia on the other hand do not understand anything and are a bunch of Jaahiliin.
@ Nuur Calaa Nuur
I guess you must be one of the chosen people right ! Since all other Somalis are jaahilliin.
It's views like these that are the most disturbing and troubling. How can one Somali feel Superior to another. The only people I know on this earth, that feel Superior to all others in that sense, are the Israelis. So are you an Israeli or Somali, are you a Muslim or a Jew ?
Seems people are confusing Racism with self hate.
Talk the talks and walks of the real world otherwise shut up fellow!.
Cheers.
Somalia needs basic infrastructure, food and environment that can produce employment. Once this is solved, everything, include piracy is solved and the opposite is true. Pirates are young Somalis, who should have learning universities, working in industries or teaching schools, and the lack of the opportunities created by the chaos forced those young men to become pirates. So before you criticize the pirates, look into the circumstances that created them. I absolutely support a man to become a pirate to feed his family instead of letting them die for starvation.