Democratic Republic of the Congo at a glance

Difficult Transitions

Many were hopeful in January 2008, following the signing of an agreement in Goma for a ceasefire and disarmament, yet their optimism was short lived. In the second half of 2008 fighting renewed in the Kivus and surrounding provinces, and malnutrition and food insecurity increased in the west of the country. While it is clear there is a need to continue to respond to the severe humanitarian situation, it is also necessary to develop longer-term programmes and structural assistance with a mixed approach of development and humanitarian assistance. These issues go beyond the traditional humanitarian mandate and require an in-depth reflection by the Good Humanitarian Donor (GHD) donor group. Since 2005, donors have progressively developed a common approach to implement GHD Principles in the DRC. The initiative now seems to have reached a point where donors should define a new vision of the GHD. Donors should also re-design their interventions to respond to the whole country’s humanitarian context and develop a more coherent common strategy to tackle issues such as human rights violations, corruption, illegal exploitation of natural resources and land distribution which impede peace and stability.

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