The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been devastated by more than a decade of war and violence - instability continues to be a big problem in the eastern provinces. The severity of the violence and the ensuing extreme poverty has lead to the loss of millions of lives.

The DRC is the second largest country in Sub-Saharan Africa and has the third largest population (56 million). It is one of the poorest countries in the world despite its rich mineral, timber and agricultural resources.

In 2005, a new constitution was approved and elections were held in 2006. Joseph Kabila was elected as president and in 2007 a new government was formed. But the new government has a very difficult task rebuilding the social, economic and political systems in order to re-invigorate development and to ensure peace and stability.

ActionAid in The Democratic Republic of Congo
ActionAid began working in the DRC in 1996 with our first emergency response in the country providing relief and assistance to Rwandan refugee populations. We have now established a long term programme working with many local partner organisations.

We work in the following fields: promoting women’s rights; HIV and Aids; ensuring democratic governance at all levels; youth and education; food and hunger and human security.