Sida's work in Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is one of the world's poorest countries, despite its rich natural resources, and has been marked by decades of armed conflict. Sida's work aims to contribute to peace, strengthen resilience to crises and bring long-term improvement to the population. Women's rights are a high-profile issue. Sida also provides humanitarian assistance to those most affected by conflict, natural disasters and epidemics.
Sida’s support in the Democratic Republic of the Congo 2024
Why do Sida work in DRC?
Human rights are violated
The DRC is a non-functioning democracy that ranks among the least democratic countries in the world. Conflict in the east of the country is intensifying between regional armed groups, while concrete results of the internationally supported peace process are lacking. The human rights situation is serious. Corruption is widespread. Violence against women is widespread.
Major security problems and armed violence
Violence has escalated and increased since December 2024. In the east, armed groups are carrying out attacks against the population and the Congolese army. The police are unable to control their territory. The level of violence has contributed to the displacement of millions
Essential for the climate transition
Deforestation is increasing and rainfall is decreasing. The Congo Basin rainforest is important for mitigating climate change. It is the world’s second largest rainforest with many unique species and sequesters carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The country’s vast mineral wealth is increasingly important for the world’s electrification of cars.
The Congolese population receives very little of the income from extraction due to corruption. At the same time, violence and exploitation of the population around the mines is increasing. People living in poverty, small-scale agriculture and forestry, and indigenous peoples are most affected.
Examples of what Sida contributes to
More people are being convicted
Progress is being made in the fight against impunity and the number of court cases is increasing. More individuals are being convicted of human rights offences. However, concerns remain about how fair the processes are. Sida contributes through its work against impunity and support to civil society working to strengthen human rights.
Peacebuilding and increased resilience
Sida is helping to strengthen the rule of law, increase resilience through employment and bring power closer to the people. It has contributed to plans for disarmament, demobilisation, resettlement and reintegration, and social cohesion.
Contributing to the global climate transition
Reducing deforestation and contributing to the sustainable use of natural resources is important. Training and equipment for sustainable forestry, reduced deforestation and agroforestry are areas that Sida supports. The development of seeds that can better withstand climate change helps small-scale farmers. Sida also contributes to reduced climate impact and reduced deforestation through investment in renewable energy.
Sida's work in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
Sida’s development cooperation in the DRC aims to strengthen respect for human rights, increase gender equality and strengthen a legal system that treats all people equally before the law. Equal health and peacebuilding, as well as work on climate adaptation, are other important areas.
To help DRC emerge from its protracted crisis, humanitarian support is being combined with long-term development and peacebuilding assistance, known as the ‘triple nexus’. This makes it easier to identify potential risks and vulnerabilities. While strengthening resilience, the underlying causes of conflict can be identified and addressed, thus reducing humanitarian needs.
Human rights violations are common and arbitrary arrests and detention are particularly frequent. At the same time, the situation has improved somewhat in recent years. The judicial system is weak and politicised and corruption is widespread. Violence against women is widespread throughout the country, including sexual violence in conflict areas and domestic violence.
Development assistance works against corruption, in favour of democracy, gender equality and respect for human rights. Here are some examples of programmes and projects that Sida supports:
Through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office (UNJHRO), Sida contributes to important reforms in the justice sector and to monitoring and documenting the human rights situation. UNJHRO and the organisation TRIAL International provide technical support for government investigations and knowledge to bring war criminals to justice.
Access to paper newspapers and independent media is limited. Sida supports the training of journalists and the operation of local radio stations through Internews Europe, as well as the production of public theatre shows on current political issues, helping to raise public awareness of important issues.
Human rights defenders risk persecution and detention. Despite some improvements, civil society organisations are also under pressure. Diakonia and several local organisations are strengthening the capacity of civil society to contribute to the democratic system, increase respect for human rights and increase the political participation of youth and women.
Tanganyika province is severely affected by conflicts over natural resources. At the same time, women bear a heavy burden in terms of livelihoods.
Sida is supporting a project to increase farmers’ opportunities for sustainable production and livelihoods, for example through training in better farming methods and market engagement. Part of the project is the social Dimitra clubs, which have increased both gender equality and the degree of self-sufficiency. The project is also being implemented in Kasai and Kasai Centre, post-conflict areas in central DRC.
The health situation has been improving for some time, but progress has recently been slowed down by several simultaneous epidemics: Ebola, measles and MpoX. Food shortages are very serious and many young children are at risk of stunting.
Knowledge of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) is low, especially in rural areas. Many people lack access to healthcare and contraception. Child marriage is common and almost one in four teenage girls has given birth before the age of 18.
Sida is working to ensure that more people have access to nutritious food. The aid also aims to increase access to equitable health care, with women, young people and children being particularly prioritised. Increasing access to and respect for sexual and reproductive health (SRHR) is an important area of work.
Here are some examples of programmes and projects that Sida supports:
473 out of 100,000 women die in pregnancy or childbirth.6 The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Congolese organisation SANRU are working with Swedish support to improve the country’s maternal and child health services, and are training midwives to identify and provide care to rape victims.
Few women who do not want to get pregnant have access to modern contraception, and awareness of issues such as HIV/AIDS is very low.
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and DKT International are working to ensure that people have access to services such as maternal health and contraception, with a particular focus on young people. The organisations train health workers. They also inform young people about gender-based violence and sexual and reproductive health.
Although the right to abortion is enshrined in law, few people in the health sector and the legal system are aware of it. IPAS raises awareness and knowledge of what the law means in order to speed up implementation.
Violence has escalated and increased since December 2024. The level of violence is high, with a large number of civilian casualties, despite the President’s ambition to end the cycle of violence through programmes such as disarmament and reintegration of ex-combatants. The eastern part of the country is the most conflict-ridden. Human rights violations are committed by armed groups, the military and the police.
Sida helps strengthen people’s resilience and build peace. Here are some examples of programmes and projects that Sida supports:
Sida contributes to building resilience to crises in conflict areas through several partnerships, including Women of Africa. Interpeace and the Life and Peace Institute work on dialogue and peacebuilding in the country’s eastern provinces. The organisations exchange experiences and knowledge that improve the work.
Sida contributes to strengthening the rule of law and bringing power closer to the people through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Sida has been one of the few donors to help develop plans for disarmament, demobilisation, resettlement and reintegration of displaced people and social cohesion.
The Congolese army is recruiting fewer and fewer children. But at the same time, the various armed groups are recruiting more and more children. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is helping both adults and children formerly involved in armed groups to return to normal life, including through training in peaceful conflict resolution, getting children into school and providing cash assistance to households struggling to make ends meet.
The DRC is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to climate change. Extreme weather and changes in rainfall are increasingly affecting agriculture. A majority of the population depends on agriculture for their livelihoods. Almost all the energy consumed comes from wood and charcoal, which emit a lot of greenhouse gases. It also affects human health.
The country has huge natural resources such as forests, minerals, wildlife and arable land. The DRC’s rainforest is part of the Congo Basin, the second largest rainforest in the world after the Amazon. More than half of the country’s surface is forested, but deforestation is high and increasing. This threatens biodiversity and contributes to climate change, as trees sequester carbon dioxide and produce oxygen. Deforestation also makes it harder for people to make a living.
Sida’s work in the field of climate change contributes to increasing people’s access to renewable energy, helping farmers cope with climate change and reduced rainfall, and promoting sustainable forestry.
Here are some examples of programmes and projects that Sida supports:
Cooking with wood and charcoal is very bad for human health and kills about four million people a year in sub-Saharan Africa.9 Through support to the Modern Cooking Facility for Africa, Sida is helping to accelerate market development and market access for companies investing in sustainable cooking methods. In addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, this work contributes to better health for women and girls, who spend a lot of time cooking.
The Beyond the Grid Fund for Africa (BGFA) was launched by Sida in 2016 to provide access to electricity for people living in areas without national electricity grids. Many poor consumers spend a very large part of their income on substandard forms of energy. By mobilising private investment and helping renewable energy companies to develop their products and bring them to market, BGFA is helping to ensure that people have access to renewable, cheap and reliable energy instead. BGFA is present in several African countries.
Deforestation, pollution and poaching reduce biodiversity. The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) run the PIREDD project in Equateur province in the DRC. The project, co-funded by Sida, engages local people in sustainable forest management, which also provides them with new livelihood opportunities. The project also strengthens people’s rights to the land on which they depend for their survival.
Millions of people are in need of humanitarian support – in one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. Sida’s humanitarian support gives people access to shelter, clean water, food and healthcare.
The DRC is the country that will receive the most humanitarian support in 2025.
Sida works with international humanitarian and civil society organisations and prioritises the people most in need of support.
Sida’s humanitarian support in the DRC saves lives and alleviates suffering.
- UNICEF’s website
- International Committee of the Red Cross, ICRC’s website
- Country Based Pooled Funds på OCHA:s webbplats
- Norwegian Refugee Council NRC’s website
- United Nations World Food Programme (WFP)’s website
- Action Against Hunger AAH’s website (multi-year support)
- United Nations Refugee Agency UNHCR’s website
- Première Urgence Internationale, PUI’s website
- International Rescue Committee IRC’s website
Learn more about Sida’s analysis of the humanitarian crisis, Sida’s support and how much money is distributed to each organisation in Sida’s crisis analysis.
Updated: July 3, 2025