By Wallace Mawire
For 30 years, the people of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have watched peace agreements come and go while the waves of conflict never seem to end. Today, over six million people are living in the shadow of this violent history, surviving in makeshift camps and crowded shelters, struggling to put food on the table under harsh displacement conditions. Last week’s joint statement signed in Montreux, Switzerland by representatives of the Government of DRC and the Alliance Fleuve Congo/March 23 Movement (AFC/M23) must be put into action if the hopeful step forward it presents is to bring genuine relief to people caught up in this rapidly deteriorating humanitarian crisis.
Across the DRC 14.9 million people are in dire need of assistance, as funding cuts have created critical gaps in humanitarian aid delivery. Displacement sites are stretched beyond breaking point, while women and girls continue to face the devastating consequences of widespread gender-based violence, including sexual violence, in conflict affected areas where rape has been deliberately used as a weapon of war.
Dr. Amadou Bocoum, CARE DRC Country Director, detailed the compounding pressures facing displaced families: “The needs remain overwhelming, while funding is declining and access to basic services is running out. This is far from being just a logistical setback – it means families going without food, children without medicine, women who have survived sexual violence without treatment or protection,” he said. “It is vital that this agreement holds and leads to real improvements in the protection of civilians as well as allowing humanitarian actors to reach people safely and consistently.”
North Kivu alone hosts approximately 1.2 million internally displaced people (IDPs) at any given time, and in 2026, humanitarian workers have witnessed constant cycles of new displacement and forced or premature returns due to ongoing fighting, especially in Masisi, Rutshuru, Walikale, Kirotshe, Sake and Mweso.
“I have seen people lose everything again and again. Although communities have shown extraordinary strength and determination to survive in the face of such horror and injustice, each time they try to rebuild their lives, conflict breaks out once more and they lose everything all over again,” shares Bijou Bwira, CARE DRC Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) Specialist.
In Masisi territory, in the city of Sake, an estimated 114,500 people are in need of assistance. CARE, together with its partners, is currently supporting three health care facilities; Afya Sake, Kaduki and Kimoka, and has so far reached over 7,200 people with life-saving assistance including access to clean water, sanitation, shelter, health care and protection services. However, these efforts represent only a fraction of the overall needs.
After displacement, families are returning to their homes with nothing but just a few clothes, only to find their fields empty, their food stocks gone and their livelihoods destroyed. In many cases, the houses they once lived in are now nothing more than ash and rubble, leaving parents struggling to find even basic shelter for their children. The destruction of water sources and critical infrastructure has also led to a growing incidence of waterborne diseases, further deepening the crisis, underscoring the urgent need for a rapid and coordinated multisectoral response.
“Working with these communities and our partners to restore basic dignity for people who have lost everything requires urgent investment in essential services and infrastructure to revive livelihoods. The journey to true recovery and healing will be long for these extraordinary communities. But, if the horrors they have faced for too long do finally end with this agreement, and if funding for crucial aid work to help them rebuild arrives, then they have a chance,” highlighted Dr Bocoum.
CARE is working with local partners to deliver life‑saving assistance to affected families, including access to clean water, sanitation, shelter, health care and protection services. In addition to the full implementation of the agreement.
The demands include all parties to the conflict protecting civilians and civilian infrastructure, including schools, hospitals, and humanitarian and healthcare workers, if hostilities continue, in accordance with their obligations under international law,the safety of humanitarian workers must be guaranteed, as obligated under international humanitarian law,full, safe, rapid, unhindered and sustained humanitarian access to be guaranteed so that life-saving assistance can reach people in need,donors to immediately increase both the volume and the quality of humanitarian funding to enable organizations that are best placed, including local and women-led organizations, to reach people in need to do so rapidly and effectively and women and women-led organizations to be meaningfully and safely included in future conflict resolution, peace processes and recovery efforts. Their participation is essential to ensure responses reflect the needs of affected communities and contribute to sustainable peace.
CARE began working in the DRC in 2002, responding to one of the world’s most complex humanitarian crises. For more than two decades, CARE has partnered with local organisations and communities to address the growing needs and deliver life‑saving assistance such as food, clean water and essential health services, while supporting families to recover and rebuild their livelihoods. With a strong focus on women and girls, CARE strengthens community resilience supporting climate adaptation and reinforcing health facilities with critical water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure.
