The deteriorating security environment in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has triggered a sharp and alarming increase in grave violations of children’s rights. Between 2024 and 2025, nearly 2,900 verified grave violations against children were documented across the eastern provinces. These violations include killings and maiming, forced recruitment and use by armed groups, abductions, conflict-related sexual violence, and attacks on schools and health facilities. Children are increasingly targeted as armed actors intensify recruitment efforts, with estimates suggesting that one in four recorded violations involved the recruitment or use of children, many of them boys under the age of 16. Sexual violence against girls has also surged, representing almost 30% of reported cases, with long-term physical and psychological consequences.
At the same time, mass displacement has profoundly worsened children’s vulnerability. Ongoing fighting has forced hundreds of thousands of families to flee their homes, leaving an estimated 1.5 to 2 million children displaced across the eastern regions. Thus, over 60% of displaced children are currently out of school due to the destruction or occupation of educational facilities, lack of learning materials, or insecurity along school routes.
Nutritional conditions have deteriorated sharply, with more than 40% of displaced children facing acute food insecurity and increased risks of malnutrition. Access to psychosocial support and child protection services remains extremely limited, particularly in overcrowded displacement sites, leaving many children traumatized and exposed to abuse, neglect, and exploitation. Collectively, these factors are severely compromising children’s physical, emotional, and cognitive development, with potentially irreversible consequences for an entire generation if urgent action is not taken.
Operational Objective - To support the operation of child protection centers, finance psychosocial and medical care programs, and implement education initiatives adapted to emergency contexts.
