Difficulty accessing fields has led to price rises for agricultural goods, some of which are now imported from large cities in the east and neighbouring countries. Communities are finding it increasingly difficult to meet their food needs, and malnutrition cases are rising. Between July and December 2024, it is estimated that around 2.4 million people will be in a Crisis situation (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Phase 3), in which lack of access to food will have reached critical levels.[1]

Myriam Favier, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) subdelegation in North Kivu, explains: “Families facing severe food insecurity are found where prolonged conflict, such as that in the east of the DRC, makes food production and delivery extremely difficult. Ultimately, the collapse of these food production systems weakens communities who are already vulnerable. Respect for international humanitarian law, which is essential for civilians' protection during the planning and conduct of hostilities, limits the impact of fighting on people's food security by ensuring, for example, that they have access to fields and markets and that humanitarian organizations' can reach communities in need.”

With civilian populations exposed to a situation combining armed violence and alarming food insecurity, teams from the ICRC, together with the DRC Red Cross, provided food assistance to more than 112,600 people in conflict-affected areas between 7 and 29 October 2024.