UN deputy humanitarian chief to visit the Democratic Republic of the Congo

A displaced family among many others who fled violent attacks to seek refuge in Rutshuru town, North Kivu. June 2022 OCHA/Endurance Lum Nji

(New York/Geneva/Kinshasa – 3 February 2023) The United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, Joyce Msuya, will visit the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 5-10 February to spotlight the dire and deteriorating humanitarian crisis in the country, which has the world’s third largest number of people in need of aid.

Ms. Msuya will be joined for part of her mission by Matthew Nims, Deputy Assistant to the Administrator of the Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance of the United States Agency for International Development.

Together, they will hold talks with top officials of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and humanitarian organizations in the capital, Kinshasa, and will travel to the east to meet with people affected by the crisis.

Ms. Msuya will also meet with Government leaders, the diplomatic community and NGO representatives in Kinshasa and Goma to discuss the drivers of humanitarian needs and how to address them.

Conflict, the climate crisis and disease outbreaks are intensifying poverty and other challenges in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The country is home to both the largest number of displaced people in Africa at 5.7 million and the largest number of acutely food insecure people in a single country worldwide at 26 million.