DRC Humanitarian Situation Report Photo: UNICEF DRC Tremeau January 2019 SITUATION IN NUMBERS Highlights 1,260,000*Internally Displaced Persons • UNICEF’s response to the North Kivu and Ituri Ebola (IDPs) (HPR 2019) * Estimate for 2019 outbreak can be found on a biweekly basis in the Ebola specific situation reports: 7,500,000 children in need of https://www.unicef.org/appeals/drc_sitreps.html humanitarian assistance (OCHA, HRP 2019) • Kasai and Kwango: hundreds of Congolese nationals continue to return to DRC from Angola on a daily basis. 1,400,000 children are suffering from Severe Acute malnutrition (DRC Nutrition • Voluntary surrender of more than 500 militia members in Cluster, January 2019) Kasai and Kasai provinces, among those 60 children, after the announcement of the final presidential election results. 3,451 cases of cholera reported in January 2019 (Ministry of Health) • Cholera has been declared as epidemic by the Ministry of Health in Haut Katanga province (944 cases; 26 deaths in 6,839 suspect cases of measles reported in January 2019). January (Ministry of Health) UNICEF Appeal 2019 UNICEF’s Response with Partners US$ 326 Million 1% of required funds available UNICEF Sector/Cluster 2019 DRC HAC UNICEF Total Cluster Total FUNDING STATUS Target Results* Target Results* Funds Carry- Nutrition: # of children with Received Over SAM admitted for therapeutic 911,907 120** 986,708 120** $1.2M $43.8M care Health: # of children in 0% humanitarian situations 1,028,959 623,582 14% vaccinated against measles WASH: # of natural disaster Funding and conflict-affected people 1,277,848 61,386 2,232,120 61,386 Require Gap with access to water, hygiene ments $281M and sanitation basic services $326M Child Protection: # of children benefited from 120,000 9,351 150,000 15,735 86% psychosocial support, including access to child friendly spaces Education: # of school aged boys and girls (5 to 17 years) 908,283 315,468 2,618,866 518,018 affected by crisis receiving learning materials * Total results are cumulative since January 2019 ** This figure only includes data from the Rapid Response to Movements of Population (RRMP) mechanism DRC Situation Report January 2019 Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs In accordance with the joint Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) (2017 – 2019), there are an estimated 13.1 million people in need in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), affected by armed conflicts and mass displacements, human rights abuses and sexual and gender-based violence, food insecurity and malnutrition, health epidemics and natural disasters. The month of January was particularly characterized by a volatile security situation in the aftermath of the presidential elections, while the overall humanitarian situation remained complex and challenging: • Since October 2018, a total of 699,7481 Congolese returning from Angola have crossed the border to DRC. While the initial influx of thousand returnees per day has decreased to a daily return of hundreds of people in several areas. In Kamako in the territory of Kamonia, Kasai Province, e.g., an average of 200 persons cross the border on a daily basis. The humanitarian situation remains precarious in the areas of arrival and requires a concerted response. • Armed conflict is ongoing in Ituri province, in the northern part of Djugu territory, and characterized by activism of several militia groups and interventions by the armed forces of the DR Congo (Forces Armées de la République Démocratique du Congo, FARDC) as well as inter-community conflicts, causing the displacement of ca. 12,000 people, among those 450 school children, as reported by local authorities. Humanitarian activities, including those of the RRMP project, had to be temporarily suspended for two weeks. Despite the volatile security situation, according to local civil society reports, the population has returned to their homes in 40 out of 45 chiefdoms which were affected by the 2018 crisis. According to the latest report of the Education provincial division, school education has resumed at 124 out of the 150 schools that were destroyed between February and June 2018, even though classes have to be held in sheds, churches and residential houses. • In Tanganyika as well as Haut Katanga province, several areas of humanitarian concern, in particular with regard to population displacements and returns, remain inaccessible due to confrontations between militia groups and FARDC. • Humanitarian support was further hampered in South Kivu province due to armed violence, which led to the displacement of 10,000 individuals2. In accordance with the report of the inter-agency mission coordinated by OCHA, in the territory of Kabare, ca. 7000 people have returned since December. • Pursuant to the announcement of the final presidential election results, a wave of voluntary surrenders of militias in Kasai and Kasai Central provinces were observed. More than 500 militias laid down their arms and requested assistance as well as their integration into the armed forces. Among them, a total of 60 children have already been identified while age verification is ongoing at the different sites where the militia have been gathered. While out of those 60 children, 26 children have been placed in host families, 34 children were with their families or still in the site of identification. The Child Protection team has been looking for a transit centre to place them. • In the province of Mai-Ndombe, following the inter-ethnic violence of December 2018, a multi-sectoral needs assessment was conducted by OCHA in cooperation with UNICEF, WHO, WFP, UNHCR and several NGO partners (27 Jan. – 02 Feb.) o In terms of child protection needs, few cases of family separation have been identified but there is an urgent need to implement psychosocial support activities for children and adolescents in both communities affected by the conflict. UNICEF is currently exploring the option to select a partner, who can intervene in this volatile area. o In terms of nutrition, in Yumbi health zone of Mai-Ndombe province, identified needs include nutrition screening or survey and implementation of lifesaving nutrition approaches and 1 This figure is a compilation of data from different sources collected by UNICEF. For the areas of Kongo Central, Lualaba and Kasai provinces : OCHA / DGM Kinshasa, BATID et Programme National de l’Hygiène aux Frontières (PNHF) ; for Central Kasai: Caritas; for Kwango: DGM Kwango during a joint assessment by UNICEF FAO, AIRD/UNHCR, ALDI, RHA, ECVM et TPO, 10 - 20 November 2018 2 According to reports from OCHA and the UNICEF partner Mercy Corps DRC Situation Report January 2019 interventions such as Community Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM), blanket and supplementary feeding and Infant and Young Child feeding program in Emergency (IYCF-E). o With regard to children’s access to education in Yumbi health zone, the following challenges have been identified: disruption of the school calendar with more than one month of interruption; 17 schools have been destroyed (14 schools in Yumbi, 1 school in Bongende Sub division, 2 schools in Nkolo sub division); destruction of WASH infrastructures as well as didactic materials; death of 7 teachers; massive displacement of pupils and teachers and almost complete absence of school division officers. • The number of health zones in alert with regard to nutrition needs (presently at least four indicators out of threshold) has increased from 65 (SNSAP Bulletin #33 covering period from July to September 2018) to 70 (SNSAP bulletin #34 covering period from October to December 2018). The most affected provinces are Central Kasai (21 health zones out of 26), Kwango (10 health zones out of 14) and Sankuru (9 health zones out of 16). • In January, a cholera epidemic was declared in Haut Katanga province by the Ministry of Health. During the reporting period, a total of 1,833 cases were registered in the three provinces (944 cases and 26 deaths in Haut Katanga, 757 cases and 23 deaths in Haut Lomani, and 132 cases and 0 death in Lualaba). With a total of 49 deceased individuals in January, the average cholera fatality rate in the three provinces is at 2.7 per cent. Considering the total number of 2,306 cases and 68 deaths (fatality rate 2.9 per cent) since January 2018 in Haut Katanga, the 944 cases and 26 deaths in January 2019 represent a significant increase of cholera in this area. • Regarding the measles outbreak, a total of 6,839 suspect cases and 71 deaths were reported in the provinces of Haut Lomami (3,416 cases and 47 deaths), Lualaba (3,237 cases and 24 deaths), and Haut Katanga (186 cases and 0 death). The outbreak in Lualaba requires particular attention since this province has not experienced any epidemic for ten years. The health zones of Kasaji (1,377 cases and 6 deaths) and Dilolo (1,110 cases) of Lualaba province have been particularly affected. Humanitarian Leadership and Coordination • UNICEF leads five clusters in the DRC humanitarian architecture, at national level in Kinshasa and at provincial hub levels in Bukavu, Goma, Kalemie and Kananga. The clusters are Nutrition, Education, WASH, Non-Food Items and Shelter, and a Working Group on Child Protection which forms part of the Protection Cluster lead by UNHCR. As part of the Ebola response, UNICEF co-leads the commissions on communication, WASH, and psychosocial care. DRC Situation Report January 2019 • UNICEF participates in inter-cluster and inter-organizations meetings at the national and decentralized levels, and is an active member of the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT). • In Kasai and Central Kasai, the Child Protection Working Groups work in collaboration with the Provincial Government and MONUSCO to ensure a rapid and effective demobilization of children from militias. • During the reporting period, the nutrition cluster endorsed the national cluster work plan for 2019 and an operation guidance note for Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergency (IYCF-E) in the Ebola context.