The WFP warns that emergency hunger in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has nearly doubled since last year: over 10 million people face crisis-level food insecurity and about 3 million are at emergency levels. Funding for WFP operations has fallen sharply — roughly $150m raised so far this year versus an estimated $350m needed — and aid could be suspended by Feb–Mar 2026 without new support. Renewed fighting, closed airports (Goma and Bukavu) and donor budget cuts have compounded access and delivery challenges.
UN: Hunger Emergency in Eastern DRC Nearly Doubles — 3 Million at 'Emergency' Levels, WFP Warns
The WFP warns that emergency hunger in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has nearly doubled since last year: over 10 million people face crisis-level food insecurity and about 3 million are at emergency levels. Funding for WFP operations has fallen sharply — roughly $150m raised so far this year versus an estimated $350m needed — and aid could be suspended by Feb–Mar 2026 without new support. Renewed fighting, closed airports (Goma and Bukavu) and donor budget cuts have compounded access and delivery challenges.
04:28, 08.11.2025Conflict
UN sounds urgent alarm as hunger crisis deepens in eastern DRC
The United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that emergency levels of hunger in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have almost doubled since last year, leaving millions in desperate need of food and nutrition assistance.
Scale of the crisis: WFP country director Cynthia Jones said one in three people in the eastern provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu, Ituri and Tanganyika — more than 10 million people — are now experiencing crisis-level food insecurity or worse. Of those, roughly 3 million are at emergency levels, meaning they face extreme shortfalls in food consumption and very high rates of malnutrition.
“We’re at historically low levels of funding. We’ve probably received about $150m this year,” Jones told reporters in Geneva, adding the WFP needs roughly $350m to sustain critical operations across the country.
The eastern DRC has endured more than a year of renewed fighting, with the M23 armed group seizing territory since it resumed large-scale operations in 2021. The group’s rapid offensive captured key eastern cities including Goma and Bukavu and has contributed to mass displacement, disrupted local markets and strained humanitarian access. Rwanda denies supporting the rebels, while both M23 and Congolese forces have been accused by observers of committing atrocities.
Operational challenges: The WFP says two eastern airports — Goma and Bukavu — have been closed for months, complicating delivery of aid. The agency has proposed an air bridge from neighbouring Rwanda into eastern DRC as a faster and potentially safer option than routing supplies from Kinshasa, on the country’s opposite side.
Funding shortfalls: In recent years WFP operations in the DRC received up to $600m; funding fell to about $380m in 2024 and the agency has so far raised roughly $150m this year. Jones warned that without substantial new funds and improvements in access, the WFP could face "a complete halt of all emergency food assistance in the eastern provinces" as early as February or March 2026.
The agency and other UN partners say cuts to humanitarian budgets from major donors — including reductions in US and some European aid as funds are reallocated — have exacerbated the crisis at a time of rising need.
What this means: The combination of intensified conflict, constrained logistics and shrinking donor support risks a rapid deterioration in food security and nutrition across eastern DRC, with humanitarian agencies urging immediate, sustained funding and secure access to prevent further loss of life.