“Congolese women and girls endure tremendous suffering, but they never lose hope,” she said, adding that even before the most recent escalation of the conflict, three women were dying every hour from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth in the country.
During her visit to the capital Kinshasa and Goma in the east, Ms Arakaki saw first-hand the harsh realities faced by women and girls. She met midwives who were still delivering babies in extremely difficult conditions and heard from mothers who had lost everything.
Neglected humanitarian crises
“Women and girls are also being raped, exploited and abused in the fields, in transit and within their own communities,” she said.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo, often described as one of the world’s most neglected humanitarian crises, continues to face alarming levels of gender-based violence. According to recent reports, incidents of sexual exploitation, abuse and coercion are widespread, especially in overcrowded displaced persons camps, where protection and security measures remain limited.
The crisis is further exacerbated by chronic hunger and lack of livelihood opportunities for displaced and host communities.
Across the Democratic Republic of the Congo, demand for emergency aid is increasing sharply, with 27 million people expected to need humanitarian assistance by 2025. Without a solution to the ongoing conflict in the eastern provinces, the humanitarian and displacement situation is expected to deteriorate further.
Survivors of multiple rapes
Ms. Arakaki described meeting a 14-year-old girl who had survived multiple rapes and was recovering from surgery in a UNFPA-supported hospital, while still holding on to her dream of returning to school.
UNFPA currently provides women and girls in the Democratic Republic of the Congo with essential health services, targeting 1.4 million people. The agency urgently calls for increased funding to provide life-saving reproductive care to those who urgently need it, including medical treatment and psychosocial support for survivors of gender-based violence.
The agency also urged all parties to the conflict to fulfill their legal obligations to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure – including health facilities – and to ensure the safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid wherever it is needed.