Conflict ridden and mineral rich, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in central Africa is experiencing a humanitarian crisis one United Nations official has described as “the worst situation we have ever seen.” 

Edem Wosornu, the UN humanitarian office’s operations director said the situation she witnessed in North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri provinces was shocking, with as many as 8 million people in need of immediate assistance.

Women and girls are being subjected to sexual violence on a massive scale in at least three provinces, Wosornu said on Tuesday after traveling through DRC. At least 26 million people are going hungry in the country, where warring rebel groups, some with ties to ISIS, have been increasingly terrorizing civilians in recent years.

The country has vast mineral wealth including cobalt, a necessary factor in electric vehicle batteries, and diamonds used in wedding rings. The scramble over such coveted resources has only fueled war, displacement and hunger, Gabriella Waaijman, global humanitarian director for Save the Children International said. She added that DRC’s government needs to help its displaced population return home safely “or else provide them land so that they can be settled elsewhere and start anew.”

DRC has the highest number of grave violations against children and one of the highest number of displaced people in the world with the number of internally displaced people growing by another one million in 2023.

The UN has appealed for $2.3 billion in humanitarian assistance for DRC this year but has received just one-third, a sum that can only help a fraction of those who urgently need help, Wosornu said.

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