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Due to resource constraints, IRIN is not updating the country profile below.
Updated humanitarian country information can be found instead at the Democratic Republic of the Congo country page on ReliefWeb [http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/dbc.nsf/doc104?OpenForm&rc=1&cc=cod].
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 Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Humanitarian Country Profile |
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Background
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Last update: February 2007 |
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) this year held its first democratic election in more than 40 years. The country was established as a Belgian colony in 1908 (Belgian Congo). Before that, from 1885 to 1908, King Leopold II of Belgium ruled it as his personal fiefdom known as the Congo Free State. The DRC gained independence in 1960.
The Congo is one of the larger countries in Africa, in the centre of the equatorial region of sub-Sahara Africa. It has 47 percent of Africa's forest, home to several rare species of trees. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has listed five of Congo's national parks as 'world heritage sites in danger' because of threats from conflict and mining. The parks' wildlife includes mountain gorillas, savannah giraffe and rare white rhino.
The history of the DRC has been rife with civil war and corruption, with 80 percent of the population living below the poverty line. The DRC's instability is reflected in its six name changes since 1885: Congo Free State (1885-1908); Belgian Congo (1908-60); Republic of the Congo-Leopoldville (1960-64); Democratic Republic of the Congo-Leopoldville (1964-66); Democratic Republic of the Congo-Kinshasa (1966-71); Republic of Zaire (1971-97); and, since 1997, the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Peace and security
The DRC's quest for peace began in 2002 with the establishment of a transitional government after different political parties and former rebel groups signed the Sun City Agreement on 19 April 2002 in South Africa. The agreement was aimed at ending four years of war and setting up a government of national unity.
The agreement laid a framework for a unified, multiparty government and a timeline for democratic elections. It allowed Joseph Kabila to remain president during a transition period. It also stipulated a power-sharing arrangement with four vice-presidents - one from each of the two main armed opposition movements; one from the government and one from the unarmed political opposition. Ministries were divided up and former opposition fighters integrated into the army and police.
The elections held in 2006 mark the end of the transition, and after 15 years of instability, the Congolese people turned up in large numbers to vote in the parliamentary and presidential elections.
In a further boost to peace and security, the United Nations has deployed its largest peacekeeping mission to the DRC. The mission, known as MONUC, fields nearly 17,000 troops and police as well as 2,700 civilian staff across the country charged with supporting the country's electoral process and overseeing the disarmament of forces embroiled in the 1998 war.
IDPs/Refugees
Continuing insecurity in parts of the country as well as lack of basic services have displaced more than 2.4 million people from their homes. There are about 1.7 million displaced persons countrywide, with an estimated 40,000 fleeing monthly from their homes in Ituri District and the provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu and Katanga.
The continued threat of insecurity has also led to an increase in unlawful killings, abductions and sexual violence by security forces and other armed groups.
In 2005, about 43,000 Congolese refugees returned home from neighbouring countries. Another 462,000 Congolese refugees continue to seek asylum in Tanzania, Zambia, the Republic of Congo, Burundi and Rwanda. At the same time, the DRC hosts refugees of several nationalities: 80,000 Angolans settled in Bas-Congo/Kinshasa and 13,500 Sudanese in Orientale Province.
Democracy and governance
Despite the progress made by the transitional government that came to power in 2003 under President Joseph Kabila in liberalising domestic political activity and undertaking economic reforms, serious human-rights problems remain in the security services and justice system.
Moreover, there were threats to the country's transitional process marked by military clashes in Kinshasa, the capital, hours after provisional election results were announced between Kabila's guards and Vice-President Jean-Pierre Bemba's, who emerged first and second respectively, during the first round of the vote in July. At least 23 people died in the three-day clashes.
The run-off polls between Kabila and Bemba in October sparked further violence in Kinshasa, the capital, leading to the arrest of 337 people, including 87 children. Kabila failed to garner a majority in the July poll.
Kabila became the first democratically elected president in 40 years; he was officially sworn in on 6 December. He won a run-off poll pitting him against Bemba. A ruling by the Supreme Court endorsed the poll results that gave Kabila 58 percent of the valid votes cast and Bemba 42 percent.
A new national assembly was inaugurated on 22 September, the first such body to be democratically elected in the country in more than 20 years.
Kabila's coalition - including the party of veteran politician Antoine Gizenga, who came third in the first round of presidential elections on 30 July, and Zanga Mobutu, the son of the late president, Mobuto Sese Seko, who came in fourth - achieved a majority in the new parliament with 300 out of 500 seats.
Media
The Congolese media operates against a backdrop of political power struggles and violent unrest. The media watchdog, Reporters without Borders, says media workers face arrest, threats and violence.
Reporters exposing corruption are at particular risk. Some publications serve as mouthpieces for opposition parties while there are several daily newspapers and many more sporadic publications.
In addition, there are dozens of private television stations and more than 100 private radio stations, some of which broadcast news. Church radio networks are growing, but the state-controlled broadcasting network reaches the largest number of citizens.
MONUC and the Swiss-based organisation Fondation Hirondelle launched Radio Okapi in 2002. The network's aim is to promote dialogue across the political divide.
Economy
The country is endowed with vast mineral resources; mining of diamonds, gold, cassiterite and coltan accounts for most exports, although these have slumped since the mid-1980s. The 1998 war dramatically reduced national output and government revenue, increased external debt, and resulted in the deaths of more than 3.8 million people from conflict, famine and disease.
Foreign businesses curtailed in-country operations due to uncertainty about the outcome of the conflict, lack of infrastructure, and the difficult operating environment. In 2001, the government, under Kabila, undertook economic reforms monitored by the International Monetary Fund: liberalisation of petroleum prices, exchange rates and adoption of disciplined fiscal and monetary policies, reducing inflation by 50 percent per year in 2000 to about 7 percent in 2003.
Economic stability improved in 2003-2005, although an uncertain legal framework, corruption and a lack of openness in government policy continues to hamper growth. Agriculture accounted for 56.3 percent of GDP in 2002. In 2005, the mining sector boosted Kinshasa's fiscal position and GDP growth. Business and economic prospects are expected to improve once a new government is installed after the 2006 elections.
The most recent UN Development Programme Human Development Index ranks the DRC at 167 out of 177 countries worldwide.
Population
The DRC has an estimated population of 56 million. The population growth rate is 2.9 percent a year, according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
The country is divided by at least 210 languages, the four main ones being French, Lingala, Kiswahili, Kikongo and Tshiluba.
The UN and international NGOs estimate that at least 1,200 Congolese die every day from conflict-related causes: preventable diseases, poverty and gender-based violence.
About 3.8 million people are estimated to have died since the conflict began in 1998. Many have suffered horrific abuse, including rape and sexual slavery by armed groups, which has contributed to the advance of HIV/AIDS.
Development indicators
The DRC has the third-largest population and the second-largest land area in sub-Saharan Africa. Life expectancy is 43 years, with latest statistics putting the national child mortality rate at 205 per 1,000 live births; infant mortality at 109 per 1,000 live births (much higher in the eastern part of the country); and national crude mortality rate at 2.1 deaths per 1,000 per month.
Despite the abundance of raw materials, the country's formal economy has virtually collapsed in the past few decades due to mismanagement, conflict, and instability. Per capita GDP in the 1980s was only a third of that in 1962, and it declined even further in the 1990s.
The stabilisation measures launched by the government in May 2001 have been successful in reversing hyper-inflation (from 630 percent in 2000 to 8.8 percent in 2001), and in stabilising the exchange rate.
After a decade of contraction, economic growth returned in 2002 (3 percent) and has increased steadily.
The external debt represents a heavy burden for the DRC's recovery prospects as it is one of the world's most debt-laden countries, with an estimated total stock of external debt of US$12 billion (about 225 percent of GDP and 1,280 percent of exports).
The DRC was granted access to the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative in July 2003, with a common reduction factor of 80 percent provided there was sustained economic performance.
Education
School enrolment rates are declining. More than 4.4 million children (nearly half the school-age population) are not in school mostly due to problems of access, retention and affordability. This number includes 2.5 million girls and 400,000 displaced children.
Although primary education is supposed to be free, parents are still liable for quarterly fees.
Poor teacher remuneration also affects learning. Less than 70 percent of children are enrolled in primary school, with priority being given to boys.
According to UNESCO, the literacy rate in the population over 15 was 54.1 percent for women compared with 80.9 percent for men from 2000-2004.
Children
At least 33,000 child soldiers are currently active in the DRC and an estimated 25,000 live in Kinshasa as street children.
Rates of infant, under-five and maternal mortality are catastrophic, with one in five children dying before the age of five, according to UNICEF.
Nearly one-third of children are underweight. Malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies are responsible for nearly half the deaths among children under five. Vaccination rates for the most common childhood diseases are about 65 percent.
Less than half the population has access to a safe source of clean drinking water. Less than one-third has access to adequate sanitation facilities.
There are more than four million orphans in the country. Child labour is commonplace, with more than a quarter of children aged between five and 14 working in mines and other industries.
Health
The majority of Congolese cannot afford healthcare or have limited access to it. Across the country, hospitals are in a state of decay and neglect. Doctors and nurses are rarely paid. Most state hospitals are operating under a system of self-financing, requiring patients to pay for treatment and medicines.
Appropriate and timely healthcare provision remains a challenge in the vast country. Although there has been a marked reduction in contagious diseases such as measles and diarrhoea during the various wars in the Congo, more than 50 percent of deaths in the east and west are due to preventable and easily treatable diseases.
Moreover, there has been a return of sleeping sickness in some areas where the disease was eradicated in the 1960s. Malnutrition has been the primary or contributing cause in 10.9 percent of all deaths in the east and 8.1 percent in the west.
Deaths from meningitis and in the neonatal period were higher in the east than in the west, whereas measles-related deaths were higher in the west, a finding that is consistent with a large epidemic reported by local health authorities and NGOs within two surveyed zones in Kasai Occidental during 2003-2004.
A significant and sustained increase in mortality occurred in DRC from January 2003 to April 2004, compared with the estimates for pre-war DRC in 1998 and the accepted norm for sub-Saharan Africa in 2004. The crude mortality rate for DRC over that period was estimated to be 2.1 deaths per 1,000 of the population per month, a rate that was 40 percent higher than the reported baseline for sub-Saharan Africa. This translates into more than 600,000 deaths in total, or more than 1,200 people dying per day.
HIV/AIDS
There have been efforts to prevent and reduce the impact of HIV in the DRC, where 163,620 new HIV/AIDS cases are expected in 2006 alone.
At least 5 percent of the population is infected with the HIV/AIDS virus, with some provinces projecting 20 percent, according to UNAIDS estimates.
The rate is believed to be significantly higher in areas of recent armed conflict, where sexual abuse and violence against women was widespread, according to UNICEF.
Only 4 percent of HIV infected women and men are receiving antiretroviral therapy.
Although a system of HIV sentinel surveillance among women attending antenatal care clinics was established in 1985, sentinel surveys have not been conducted regularly and sites have not been used consistently. Efforts are ongoing to strengthen surveillance.
HIV prevalence rates among sex workers in Kinshasa have fluctuated between 26.8 percent in 1985 and 22.2 in 2002.
Food security
Civilians continue to live in crisis conditions in many parts of the country, with displacement of rural populations rising due to insecurity. The burning of fields and food stocks are recurrent issues, according to the World Food Programme (WFP).
While the eastern provinces used to be the country's major food producers, repeated looting of crops by armed groups continues to force farmers into subsistence farming. In other parts of the country, crumbled infrastructure has significantly decreased the country's food-production capacity.
Acute malnutrition is at 16 percent in some parts of the DRC. At least 71 percent of Congolese are food insecure or face an unstable food security situation. In the east, access to fields is risky for the women due to the presence of armed men. Almost non-existent feeder roads limit movement by humanitarian workers who would otherwise help to reduce food insecurity.
Gender issues
Women remain marginalised in the DRC. According to Amnesty International, there is a direct link between discrimination against women in general and the violence inflicted on women in times of war.
Before the war, women suffered economic, social, cultural and political discrimination. With the start of the 1996-2002 armed conflict, the situation deteriorated, with widespread sexual and gender-based violence.
The number of victims of this violence is not known, due to a lack of reliable data. However, it is estimated that hundreds of thousands of people have been affected. From January to December 2005, more than 3,950 cases of sexual violence were reported. However, this number is not representative of the situation on the ground as the lack of security in many regions, the inaccessibility of some locations, and the physical or material inability of some victims to travel, contributes to underreporting. The fear of reprisals by the perpetrators and the risk of being rejected by their families or stigmatised by the community also frequently prevents rape survivors from coming forward.
Originally used as a weapon of war by soldiers to humiliate the enemy, sexual and gender-based violence is also perpetrated by civilians. The reason is twofold: sexual and gender-based violence is shrouded in silence and the perpetrators are seldom tried because of the prevailing climate of impunity. In addition, sexual and gender-based violence has a negative impact on the ongoing peace and reconciliation process that is vital to the development of the country, according to UNDP and UNFPA.
Widows and rape survivors fare worse than the rest of the female population. Women are also underrepresented in leadership positions, while customary law is generally highly discriminatory against women.
Human rights
Human-rights violations have been perpetrated by the government's security forces as well as rebels, militiamen and other armed groups. According to Amnesty International (AI), the transitional power-sharing government since 2003 has made little progress in advancing the law and respect that are essential to building security and respect for human rights.
The government remained weak in the eastern parts that were under the de facto control of armed groups, with insecurity, unlawful killings, human-rights abuses, ethnic tension, widespread rape and sexual exploitation of women and girls, torture and illegal detention and the recruitment and use of child soldiers continuing in many parts of the country, according to AI.
The Congolese government has also failed to make provision for the safety and dignity of returnees to the country, including refugees.
Humanitarian needs
The humanitarian needs in the vast country vary by region, although the ongoing concerns are: protecting civilians, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and returnees from violent attacks and sexual violence by armed groups, especially in the eastern provinces of Orientale and North and South Kivu, provision of aid for refugees, aid in combating epidemics of cholera, measles, meningitis, sleeping sickness, plague, river blindness and monkey pox.
Aid is also required for the rehabilitation of basic infrastructure in the provinces of Maniema, Kasai, and for mine action programmes in Maniema and Equateur province. In 2005, 21 accidents caused by landmines and unexploded ammunition were reported, posing a security threat. However, the extent of the security threat posed by the landmine problem in the DRC has not been determined.
Natural disasters such as erosion-induced flooding, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are also of concern, with the latest serious earthquake in the country occurring on 5 December 2005 in Lake Tanganyika. Mount Nyamulagira erupted on 28 November while Mt Nyirangongo erupted in January 2002, destroying part of the eastern town of Goma, the main town in the province of North Kivu.
Other humanitarian aid and coordination challenges include: dangerous commercial air and river-boat services; absence of a Humanitarian Information Centre, leading to less than optimal response; of the 2005 Consolidated Appeals Process (CAP) for US$211.9 million, only 51.3 percent of the requirements have been covered while the 2006 DRC Humanitarian Action Plan seeks $681 million to meet the needs of at least 30 million vulnerable Congolese.
The CAP is an inclusive and coordinated programme cycle to analyse the context, assess needs, and plan a prioritised humanitarian response, under the leadership of humanitarian coordinators and in close consultation with governments. |
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| DRC in figures | · Population: 56 million
· Pop. growth rate: 2.9%
· GDP per capita: US$98.65
· Pop. below poverty line: N/A
· Life expectancy: 43 years
· Infant mortality: 109 per 1000
· Access to med. services: N/A
· HIV prevalence: 5%
· Access to clean water: 22%
· Access to electricity: N/A
· Literacy rate:80.9% (men), 54.1%(women)
· Doctors/people: N/A
· Displaced people: 2.4 million
· Refugees: 462,000 in Tanzania, Republic of Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, Zambia
· Human development index: 0.391 (HDI 2006 Rank 167)
Sources: WFP, UNAIDS, UNESCO, UNICEF, The Lancet |
| Basic facts | Language: French, Lingala, Kiswahili, Kikongo, Tshiluba
Ethnic Groups: N/A
Religions: Christianity, Islam
Geography: vast central basin is a low-lying plateau; mountains in east
Border countries: Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia Natural resources: Copper, cobalt, diamonds, gold, other minerals, petroleum, wood, hydroelectric potential
Agriculture products: coffee, rubber, palm oil, cotton, cocoa, sugar, tea
Sources: WFP, UNAIDS, UNESCO, UNICEF, The Lancet |
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