The Democratic Republic of Congo is steeped in a deeply-rooted pathos of conflict that has ravaged the nation for decades. Far beyond political boundaries and ideological skirmishes, the humanitarian calamity the conflict has engendered diverges disproportionately and violently into social strata, impacting the lives of countless innocent citizens.
The ongoing conflict in Congo can be traced back to the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide in 1994, followed by two devastating wars in 1996-1997 and 1998-2003, infamously known as “Africa’s First World War”. Violence did not cease following these wars; instead, it got embroiled in a persistent pattern of conflict, sparking numerous armed groups.
While conflicts and wars can arguably drain a nation’s economic resources, it’s the humanitarian catastrophe that casts long, unending shadows over the dispensation of peace. With growing political instability, weakened state control, endemic corruption, and a proliferation of armed factions, the humanitarian implications in Congo have surfaced severe and vast, effectively resulting in mass displacement, severe malnutrition, widespread sexual violence, grave human rights abuses, and an under-reported decimation of the national health system.
As per United Nations reports, an estimated 5.2 million Congolese have been internally displaced, the highest figure in Africa, exacerbating the acute humanitarian crisis more intensely. With scant governance and stifling indignity, living conditions for the displaced populations are deplorable, with insufficient access to food, potable water, healthcare, and basic hygiene amenities.
Malnutrition, especially amongst children under the age of five, has been rampant. An alarming 3.4 million children are acutely malnourished according to UNICEF, with limited or no nutritional support available. malnutrition has sadly become a chronic issue, compromising children’s immune systems, leaving them more susceptible to other diseases.
The conflict in Congo has gained an international recognition of immense proportions for crimes against women’s dignity. Systematically employed as a warfare tool, sexual violence, notably rape, is used to intimidate, create fear, and displace communities, leading to a nerve-wracking humanitarian crisis, coupled with socio-cultural stigmatization.
Moreover, severe human rights violations, including arbitrary killings and torture, are endemic in Congo, frequently perpetrated by both government forces and rebel factions. Around 890 people were reportedly killed in three days in late 2018 within the Yumbi territory of the Mai-Ndombe province alone.
The threats to Congolese health have enhanced in wide-ranging directions with the spread of preventable diseases. An under-resourced and fragile health care system cohering with the world’s second-largest Ebola outbreak and a recent measles epidemic herald stark threats to the wider Congolese populace.
The long-drawn conflict in Congo, thus, explicitly brings forth the penetrating blow to the nation’s already pulverised humanitarian aspects. While immediate and concrete relief actions are onerously required, simultaneous efforts ought to focus on sustainable solutions aimed at peacebuilding and fostering social resilience for the citizens of Congo, who have been deprived of lives of dignity for decades.
