IPC report showing that more than 25 million people were acutely food insecure between January and June 2023

According to the latest report on the analysis of the Integrated Food Security Classification Framework (IPC) of the 21ᵉ cycle in the Democratic Republic of Congo, made public on Monday 29 May, a period from January to June 2023 recorded acute food insecurity affecting more than 25.8 million people, or around 25 % of the total population. This situation makes the DRC one of the countries requiring the greatest humanitarian support in the world.

Drawn up in July 2022 and validated by the General Secretariats of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Livestock, this analysis highlights that seven areas in the DRC - Rutshuru, Nyiragongo, Masisi, Beni and Goma in North Kivu, and Djugu and Mambasa in Ituri - are facing a considerable deterioration in the food situation. Around 1.3 million people have moved from IPC phase 1 or 2 to crisis or emergency status (IPC phases 3 and 4).

Natasha Nadazdin, Deputy Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), underlined the essential role of the government in this process, and partners such as the WFP and the FAO are supporting this national initiative.

The report also highlights the main factors contributing to food insecurity, including armed conflict, rising prices for basic foodstuffs, poor infrastructure and disruption to farming activities.

Aristide Ongane Obame, FAO Country Representative in the DRC, stressed that this exercise should be seen as a government effort supported by partners such as the WFP and the FAO. He called on other stakeholders to contribute to this effort in order to rapidly bring the DRC out of this persistent situation.

The analysis involved 132 trained and certified level 1 analysts, 42 organisations and government structures, as well as facilitators deployed by the GSU-IPC and national co-facilitators. A total of 185 units were analysed, covering 26 provinces, 138 of them rural and 47 urban, including 24 communes in the city of Kinshasa.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) is a multi-stakeholder initiative to improve analysis and decision-making on food security and nutrition. It enables governments, UN agencies, NGOs and other stakeholders to work together to assess the severity and extent of acute and chronic food insecurity and acute malnutrition, based on recognised international standards.