A site where people displaced by conflict in eastern Congo and seeking safety and humanitarian assistance, such as this one near Goma, is there Oxfam and partners are providing water, basic sanitation in the form latrines, and hygiene items to help stay h

A site where people displaced by conflict in eastern Congo and seeking safety and humanitarian assistance, such as this one near Goma, is there Oxfam and partners are providing water, basic sanitation in the form latrines, and hygiene items to help stay healthy.

Yves Kalwira/ Oxfam

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Oxfam is working with partners in the Democratic Republic of Congo to help people displaced by conflict and at risk of disease, hunger, and sexual violence.

Last updated: May 20th, 2025

What’s happening in the Democratic Republic of Congo?

People in the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are affected by decades of conflict leading to outbreaks of preventable diseases and the internal displacement of as many as 7.8 million people. In recent months, an increase in fighting led by the M23 rebel group has made the crisis considerably more dire, as people are fleeing insecurity to places ill-equipped to support them, lacking food, water, and basic hygiene necessities. Many are sheltering in schools and churches in and around the city of Goma, which are overcrowded and lack essential services. Some are returning to their villages of origin where their homes have either been looted, damaged or destroyed, their crops have been pillaged and, in some cases, other families have started farming their fields.

People attach water hoses to a water storage bladder, when filled it will provide water for people in eastern Congo displaced by conflict in the area.
Oxfam staff set up a water bladder to store clean water at a location hosting people displaced by conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Drissa Fadiga/ Oxfam

Humanitarian organizations estimate that 27.7 million people in the DRC are experiencing acute levels of food insecurity, at least 6.1 million of whom are in the eastern provinces. There has also been a sharp increase in sexual violence with 895 cases of rape reported by the UN in the last two weeks of February 2025 alone, a staggering average of 60 rapes per day.

Early in 2025, the U.S. government cut support to most organizations receiving funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development, accelerating the collapse of a public health system already coping with millions of displaced people and the threat of preventable water-borne diseases such as cholera as well as MPOX and Ebola virus. Millions of people are experiencing severe malnutrition in the eastern regions of DRC.

“This is turning into a full-blown humanitarian catastrophe. People are drinking water straight from contaminated rivers and springs because water tanks and sanitation facilities have been destroyed. When you combine this with a collapsed health system, cholera is spreading like wildfire,” said Oxfam DRC Country Director, Dr Manenji Mangundu.

What is Oxfam doing in the eastern DRC?

Oxfam is working with partners such as AVUDS, Centre de Développement Intégral de l’Enfant Rural (CEDIER – Center for the integral development of the rural child) and Solidarité pour la Promotion Sociale et la Paix (SOPROP, a civil society organization promoting peace and social cohesion) to help displaced people in North and South Kivu in eastern DRC with food, clean water, sanitation, cash assistance as well as hygiene kits for women and girls. We aim to assist more than 400,000 people.

Providing clean water

Oxfam and partners are working to provide clean water to people who have been displaced by conflict. The worst-affected areas include Kirotshe and the city of Goma, where displaced families in overcrowded conditions have little to no access to clean water. This work involves monitoring water quality, supplying chlorine to water treatment points, repairing and installing infrastructure, seeking out nearby springs and other water sources that can be tapped, and supporting partners installing water tanks in areas where displaced people are living, to ensure a source of clean water.

Kahindo Tantine and her five children have been displaced by conflict in eastern DRC. After recently returning to her home village, she is struggling to feed her family. “Hunger is widespread, and we have no source of income,” she says.
Kahindo Tantine and her five children have been displaced by conflict in eastern DRC. After recently returning to her home village, she is struggling to feed her family. “Hunger is widespread, and we have no source of income,” she says. The crops that fed her family, such as cassava, maize, and beans have disappeared, giving way to an overwhelming food crisis. Alain Nkingi/Oxfam

Promoting good hygiene

Oxfam is working with groups that are training local people to encourage good hygiene, a key means to prevent water-borne diseases. These local hygiene promoters train people in proper handwashing and encourage them to use soap and other hygiene items distributed by Oxfam and other aid organizations.

Protection for survivors of violence

Women and girls are bearing a disproportionate burden of the crisis due to widespread sexual assault in areas affected by conflict. Oxfam and partners are providing cash to survivors of sexual assault and rape so they can pay for transportation costs and medical services. We are referring survivors to service providers who can help them. This protection work includes working with local groups to train people who can provide assistance to survivors of violence, advising them about where to find the help they need.

Meeting food needs and supporting livelihoods

Given the high level of food-insecure people, Oxfam and partners are also distributing food to the most vulnerable households to cover their basic nutritional requirements and avoid negative coping strategies. Food packets include grain/cereal, legumes such as dried beans, vegetable oil, and salt. And to ensure that families can meet other basic needs beyond food, Oxfam and partners are providing cash so that families can select for themselves the items they most need on the local market.