Goma, October 5th, 2026 (CPA).- An escalating child malnutrition crisis has been reported in North Kivu, in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), amid continued fighting and a drastic reduction in humanitarian funding, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) warned in a statement seen by the CPA on Monday. “The child malnutrition crisis is worsening in North Kivu amid continued fighting and a drastic reduction in humanitarian funding. Insecurity along strategic routes is disrupting supplies and driving up prices,” the statement said. According to MSF, the security crisis is forcing thousands of families to flee, depriving them of access to farmland, income and healthcare. Dr. Fabien Kabongo, MSF Deputy Medical Coordinator in North Kivu, quoted in the statement, deplored the loss of food and income suffered by families. “In Walikale, one of the hardest-hit areas, the global acute malnutrition rate reached 46% in November 2025, according to a WFP/UNICEF analysis, which classified the situation as an ‘emergency’. In Katoyi, an MSF assessment conducted in March 2026 found that nearly one in four children screened was suffering from acute malnutrition,” he explained.
“MSF cannot single-handedly replace the entire humanitarian response. Sustainable funding is urgently needed,” he stressed.
The medical organization said it treated 53,000 children for malnutrition in 2025 at its supported facilities in the DRC, including more than 33,000 between January and August 2026 in North Kivu province alone. MSF noted that the DRC has been particularly affected by the decline in international aid, with only 4.3% of food security funding needs covered in 2025, according to UNICEF. “The organization currently supports the Walikale General Referral Hospital, five outpatient facilities and the health zones of Mweso, Kibirizi, Masisi and Bambo. In unsupported centers, essential medicines and ready-to-use therapeutic foods are in short supply,” MSF said. According to the United Nations (UN), more than 26 million people faced crisis- or emergency-level food insecurity in the DRC in 2025, including nearly 4 million in North Kivu. The country has 6.1 million internally displaced people, nearly 5 million of whom are in the provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri.