The Situation In DRC:

• Extreme poverty, food insecurity, and malnutrition are widespread.
• Up to 95% of the population earn less than $2 a day.
• One in seven children dies before reaching the age of five.
• Nearly one-quarter of children are underweight. Malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies are responsible for nearly half of deaths among children under age five.
• More than 6.5 million people experience food insecurity (UN World Food Program).
• Vaccination rates for the most common childhood diseases are only 45%.
• There are over 4 million orphaned children in the country.
• More than 4.4 million children (nearly half the school-age population) are not in school. This number includes 2.5 million girls and 400,000 displaced children.
• Recent declines in foreign aid to support humanitarian assistance, combined with low levels of government spending on socio-economic sectors (education, health, sanitation, infrastructure and agriculture) is likely to further undermine food security and nutrition in DRC.