Acute Malnutrition Crisis Threatens Half a Million Congolese Children: WHO
More than one million children in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are at risk of acute malnutrition due to recurring food insecurity, widespread violence, and systemic challenges, according to a recent warning from the World Health Organization (WHO).
The agency highlighted the significant impact of conflict in the east, leading to displacement, destruction, and a heightened sense of fear amongst civilians. Over the past year alone, nearly a million people in the region have been forced from their homes due to fighting between local forces and the M23 militia, fueling an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe.
"Describing the situation as ‘catastrophic’," UN officials pointed to the crippling inadequacy of healthcare facilities under the strain of overwhelmed water and sanitation infrastructures. Outbreaks of previously controlled diseases like cholera, measles, and mpox are increasingly frequent and vicious, claiming innocent lives daily.
Tragically, more than two-thirds of those in need are forced to rely on unreliable humanitarian responders, hampered by ongoing hostilities, bureaucratic barriers, and resource limitations preventing timely access to lifesaving measures.
With the United Nations Office of Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs reporting its highest number of individuals (20.6 million) ever before, in a country reeled by devastating conditions. For a brighter, sustainable future to set in, there’s no doubt UN officials have set out strong, united cries to alleviate this global healthcare and crises crisis, but so much awaits action in support, including that from key donor states of the international community
