Democratic Republic of the Congo: IPC Acute Food Security and Malnutrition Snapshot | July 2025 – June 2026 (Published on 15 December 2025) – ReliefWeb

Acute Malnutrition Crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): A Sustainable Development Challenge

Overview of Malnutrition Impact (July 2025 – June 2026)

Between July 2025 and June 2026, an estimated 4.18 million children aged 6–59 months in the DRC are suffering or expected to suffer from acute malnutrition, requiring urgent nutrition services and treatment. This includes over 1.35 million children affected by Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM). Additionally, nearly 1.54 million pregnant and breastfeeding women (PBW) are projected to be malnourished and in need of treatment during the same period.

Current and Projected Nutrition Severity by Health Zones

1. Current Period (July – December 2025):
   • Five units of analysis covering 32 health zones are classified as Critical (IPC AMN Phase 4).
   • 18 units covering 16 health zones, one territory, and two provinces are classified as Serious (IPC AMN Phase 3).
2. Projected Period (January – June 2026):
   • The number of health zones classified as Critical (IPC AMN Phase 4) is expected to increase from 33 to 37.
   • Units classified as Serious (IPC AMN Phase 3) are projected to rise sharply from 18 to 106.

Key Drivers of Acute Malnutrition

• Insufficient complementary feeding practices.
• Poor access to adequate and nutritious food.
• Frequent epidemic outbreaks increasing morbidity rates.
• Poor water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) conditions.
• Ongoing civil insecurity and massive population displacement in eastern regions (North Kivu, South Kivu, Ituri, Tanganyika).
• Deterioration of access to basic health services, especially for host and displaced households.

Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The acute malnutrition crisis in the DRC directly impacts several Sustainable Development Goals, including:

• SDG 2: Zero Hunger – Addressing malnutrition among children and pregnant/breastfeeding women is critical to ending hunger and achieving food security.
• SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being – Improving nutrition services and treatment reduces child mortality and enhances maternal health.
• SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation – Enhancing WASH conditions is essential to prevent disease and malnutrition.
• SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions – Resolving civil insecurity and displacement is vital to ensuring access to health services and food security.

Recommendations for Sustainable Intervention

1. Scale up nutrition treatment programs targeting children under five and pregnant/breastfeeding women.
2. Improve food security through sustainable agricultural practices and food access initiatives.
3. Strengthen epidemic prevention and control measures to reduce morbidity.
4. Enhance WASH infrastructure and promote hygiene education.
5. Address civil insecurity and support displaced populations to restore access to essential services.

1. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed or Connected

1. SDG 2: Zero Hunger – The article focuses on acute malnutrition among children and pregnant and breastfeeding women, directly relating to ending hunger and ensuring access to nutritious food.
2. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being – The need for nutrition services and treatment highlights health and well-being concerns, especially for vulnerable groups.
3. SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation – Poor water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) conditions are mentioned as contributing factors to malnutrition.
4. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions – Civil insecurity and population displacement affecting access to health services relate to promoting peaceful and inclusive societies.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs

1. SDG 2 Targets:
   • Target 2.1: End hunger and ensure access by all people to safe, nutritious, and sufficient food all year round.
   • Target 2.2: End all forms of malnutrition, including achieving targets on stunted and wasted children under 5 years of age.
2. SDG 3 Targets:
   • Target 3.2: End preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age.
   • Target 3.3: End epidemics of communicable diseases, which are linked to high morbidity rates mentioned in the article.
3. SDG 6 Targets:
   • Target 6.1: Achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water.
   • Target 6.2: Achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all.
4. SDG 16 Targets:
   • Target 16.1: Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere.
   • Target 16.7: Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied in the Article

1. Prevalence of Acute Malnutrition: The article provides figures such as 4.18 million children aged 6–59 months suffering acute malnutrition and 1.35 million with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM), which relate to indicators measuring malnutrition rates (e.g., Indicator 2.2.1: Prevalence of stunting and wasting among children under 5 years of age).
2. Nutrition Service Coverage: The need for nutrition services and treatment implies monitoring the coverage and access to such services (related to Indicator 2.2.2: Prevalence of malnutrition among children under 5 years of age receiving treatment).
3. Health Zone Classification by IPC AMN Phases: The classification of health zones into Critical (Phase 4) and Serious (Phase 3) acute malnutrition phases can be used as an indicator of severity and geographical distribution of malnutrition.
4. Access to Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH): Poor WASH conditions contributing to malnutrition suggest indicators such as Indicator 6.1.1: Proportion of population using safely managed drinking water services and Indicator 6.2.1: Proportion of population using safely managed sanitation services.
5. Impact of Conflict and Displacement: The mention of civil insecurity and displacement affecting health service access implies indicators related to displacement numbers and access to essential services, which can be linked to SDG 16 monitoring.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: reliefweb.int