Question Period Note: Canada's Humanitarian Response in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Canada is deeply concerned about the grave humanitarian situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, including the ongoing Ebola outbreak.

• Canada works with experienced humanitarian partners to provide assistance to people affected by crises, including to survivors of sexual violence in conflict-affected areas.

• In 2019, Canada provided both technical and financial support to humanitarian partners to meet the urgent needs of those affected by conflict and the Ebola outbreak. This includes providing food and nutrition assistance, health, water and sanitation, shelter and protection.

• Canada will continue to monitor the evolving humanitarian situation and will continue to respond, as appropriate.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is facing a significant humanitarian crisis, with 12.8 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, an increase of more than 50% since the beginning of 2017.

An estimated 12.8 million people are severely food insecure, including 4.3 million malnourished children, of which 1.3 million are severely malnourished. Since 2017, and following recent increases in violence and insecurity, over 2 million have been displaced in North Kivu and Ituri provinces, accounting for almost half of the displacement in the DRC (approximately 4.5 million nationally). DRC is also home to approximately 533,000 refugees. Further, the Congolese government is struggling to respond to the Ebola outbreak in the active conflict zone of North Kivu and Ituri. On July 17, 2019, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, a designation that is given to an "extraordinary event" that constitutes a public health risk to other States through the international spread of disease.

In 2019, Canada allocated $39.01 million [unannounced] in humanitarian assistance to the DRC, of which $11.5 million [unannounced] is in direct response to the Ebola outbreak. Canada's humanitarian assistance is helping to provide food, treatment for acute malnutrition, drinking water, hygiene, sanitation, health services and protection (including medical and psychosocial support to survivors of sexual violence), infection prevention and identification, contact tracing, and support to livelihoods for vulnerable populations.

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