Democratic Republic of Congo: An Overview
Among InterAction Members Responding*
Action Against Hunger
ADRA
AirServ International
CARE
Catholic Relief Services
Concern Worldwide
Food for the Hungry
IFES
International Rescue Committee
International Medical Corps
Jesuit Refugee Services
Refugees International
UMCOR
Vietnam Veterans Foundation - iMMAP
World Vision
*Note: This list may not include all InterAction members working in this country/region. If your organization is working in this area and is not included in this list, please email Linda Poteat. |
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been in turmoil since 1996, when bush fighter Laurent Kabila, with backing from Rwanda, swept through the country from east to west, finally taking the capital of Kinshasa in May 1997. In a bid to consolidate power in July 1998, Kabila broke from his Rwandan supporters who retaliated by invading parts of eastern DRC and supporting rebel movements opposed to Kabila. Rebel factions formed up in other parts of the country as well, including Ituri (where fierce fighting led to the deployment of French and later U.N. forces) and Equateur Province, former President Mobutu’s stronghold.
The de facto division of the country had a profound effect on DRC’s internal economics, cutting off the rich agricultural lands in the east from the west, the primary source of manufactured goods and imported products. It also cut off all government support and supervision in the east for key services such as health and education. Large populations no longer had access to basic primary health care services and this, combined with the loss of much of the agricultural capacity due to on-going hostilities, sent the population of eastern DRC into a downward spiral of malnutrition and disease. The International Rescue Committee conducted a series of mortality studies from 2000 until 2004, the last of which indicated that 3.8 million people had died as a result of the conflict, most from malnutrition and preventable diseases.
Laurent Kabila was assassinated in January 2001 and his son, Joseph Kabila, was put in power. A peace agreement concluded in 2002 provided for a transitional government consisting of President Kabila and four vice presidents representing the various rebel groups. This transitional government was to stay in place until country-wide elections could be organized. The first round of these elections is to take place on July 30, with a run-off election likely afterwards. Due to the tremendous logistical challenges posed by the physical size of DRC and its lack of communications infrastructure, gathering the ballots and tallying the votes will be time-consuming, and the new government probably will not be seated until early 2007.
Learn how CARE is Responding in the Democratic Republic of Congo: A Case Study
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