March 2015 - Ongoing conflict between Government and UN peacekeeping forces and a plethora of armed rebel groups in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has led to a widespread regional humanitarian crisis. Nearly 3 million people in the DRC have been displaced from their homes and a further 500,000 Congolese are living as refugees in neighbouring countries. An estimated 5.7 million people in the country are facing acute food insecurity and almost 3.9 million children under the age of five years old are malnourished. The level of sexual and gender-based violence, particularly in the eastern region of the country, is alarming. Overall, an estimated 7 million people in the DRC (roughly 9% of the total population) are expected to require humanitarian assistance in 2015. With DFATD’s support, Oxfam Québec is meeting the basic household, livelihood, and water and sanitation needs of up to 25,000 conflict-affected people in Beni territory, North Kivu. With this multi-sectoral approach, Oxfam Québec is targeting the most vulnerable, including children, pregnant women, the elderly, and the handicapped, for assistance. Project activities include: (1) providing essential household items to up to 3,500 people; (2) providing cash grants to 700 households without access to land or ability to work; (3) providing agricultural supplies and training to 2,300 households; (4) constructing or rehabilitating 24 community water points; (5) constructing 500 emergency latrines and 100 showers; (6) carrying out a community-based hygiene campaign, benefiting 25,000 people; and (7) carrying out a community-based protection campaign, increasing the capacity of 25,000 people to protect themselves from violence, discrimination, and HIV/AIDs.
