The Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC, especially its eastern parts, lives under the impact of protracted violent conflict. The presence of armed groups and high numbers of internal displacement has increased the vulnerability of the population towards different   forms of abuse such as sexual violence. The conflict in DRC has been become known as “Africa’s world war”

Since 1994, a year in which a massive flow of Rwandan refugees and armed groups have entered the DRC, the country has entered into a multi-sectarian crisis. This crisis has been aggravated by a succession of wars so-called “of liberation” that have lasted till the early 2006, the year in which fair election brought to power a legitimate government.

During this period of time, groups of people have been displaced among which around 150 000 persons were forced to flee to the neighboring country of Tanzania. These refugees have now started to move back to places where they originally came from.
DRC hosts the world’s biggest UN Mission, MONUSCO, with approximately 17.000 troops, but violence against civilians remains high. In addition to conflict, physical infrastructure is inadequate and limits access. Only 20% of the country remains accessible by road.