Conflict in the Kasai, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Conflict in the Kasai region at a glance, What is the Kasai crisis?, Violence initially flared in the Kasai region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in August 2016, sparked by tensions between customary chiefs in Kasai-Central Province and the government. The violence spread rapidly in early 2017. Existing intercommunity tensions became part of a wider conflict involving militias, armed groups and security…, How many people have been affected?, When violence broke out in 2016, hundreds of thousands of people ran for their lives. Women and children displaced by violence have escaped to isolated locations to find safety – losing access to essential goods and services such as health care, safe water and sanitation, and education. The militias have used children to fight and kill, or to act…, How is UNICEF helping?, UNICEF is on the ground helping to deliver life-saving supplies and services. Since January 2017, UNICEF and partners have treated 71,500 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition; and, since August 2017, vaccinated 2 million children for measles; provided access to water, sanitation and hygiene services for more than 326,400 children; and…, Call to action: For the children of Kasai, UNICEF and its partners have achieved some critical results for children in the Kasai region. However, if humanitarian action is not stepped up in 2018: 400,000 children will be at risk of dying because of severe acute malnutrition. Thousands of children formerly associated with the militias will lack the support they need to reintegrate into…, Fast facts, Children and militias, Perhaps the most horrifying aspect of the crisis in Kasai is the use of children by militias. At least 60 per cent of the region’s militia forces are composed of children, according to the interagency Global Education Cluster and Global Protection Cluster. The militias use children to fight and kill, or to act as human shields. All of them have to…, Nutrition crisis , While the security situation has stabilized in parts of the Kasai region and displaced populations have begun to return to their communities, humanitarian conditions remain critical. More than 770,000 young children are malnourished, including 400,000 children – a staggering 10 per cent of the under-5 population – who urgently need treatment to…, Health crisis, Beyond the threat of malnutrition, the children of the Kasai region face a continuing health crisis. Many young children missed out on scheduled vaccinations because violence and displacement destroyed health centres and disrupted immunization campaigns – making them even more susceptible to deadly childhood diseases. Even for people who were not…, Education disrupted, The disruption of education by the conflict is robbing the children in the Kasai region of a viable future. Almost half a million children in the region were unable to complete the school year in 2017 and school attendance is likely to be disrupted by violence in 2018 as well. Since the beginning of the conflict, 416 primary and secondary schools…, Displaced by violence, The violence in the Kasai has generated massive displacement. The impact this experience will have on lives and futures is difficult to imagine. People hiding in the bush are the most vulnerable and difficult to reach with assistance. They have no real shelter and lack drinking water, sanitation, food and health care. Others live with their…, Voices from the Kasai, A youth at a UNICEF-supported reintegration centre for children associated with armed groups, in Kananga, Kasai region, Democratic Republic of the Congo, DRC. Children on the frontline Thousands of children in Kasai have been associated with militias and experienced atrocities > More A mother holds her sleeping baby at a health centre in Kasai…, UNICEF's response, UNICEF is on the ground working with partners to reach children with lifesaving assistance: Preventing and treating severe acute malnutrition among the region’s children by distributing therapeutic food and training health workers, mothers and community members in infant and young child feeding practices. Improving children’s access to health care…, Beyond Kasai: The situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Learn more, UNICEF Child Alert | Kasai: A children’s crisis Humanitarian Situation Reports: Democratic Republic of the Congo UNICEF 2018 appeal: Democratic Republic of the Congo
