In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), two cleavages are visible: (i) the Eastern block, which is is strongly affected by armed conflicts of foreign troops and local militia, and (ii) the western and central blocks, more stable but very landlocked, developing rates of chronic malnutrition above the acceptable threshold. The national analysis of the Integrated Framework for the Classification of Chronic Food Security shows three major zones: (i) the city province of Kinshasa at Level 2 (Mild food insecurity), (ii) the center of the country and the Northeast at Level 4 (Severe chronic food insecurity), and (iii) the remaining areas without Kinshasa at Level 3 (Moderate chronic food insecurity). 

According to national surveys conducted over the last ten years, three out of five households have acceptable food consumption (CFSVA 2008 and 2012, MICS 2010). However, diet diversity and the number of minimal meals are very little respected. On average 65% of adults (survey 1-2-3, 2012) are satisfied with two meals with the exception of Western Kasai and Tshopo, which are limited to one meal per day (71% and 51%, respectively, survey 1-2-3, 2012). The highest proportion of children with more than three meals per day is in Mai Ndombe (30%), Lualaba and Central Kongo (26%). 

Overall, children's dietary diversity and their meal frequency are inadequate even in urban areas. This relates to the inappropriate use of food in the country. This inadequate consumption among children is connected to marked stunting, lack of predisposition to the assimilation of knowledge, limited access to basic social services. The national vitamin A supplementation of children was satisfactory except in the provinces of Maniema (40%), Nord Ubangi (47%), Sankuru (41%) and Tshopo (44%), which had the lowest coverage rates.

The distribution of drinking water throughout the national territory remains low or even zero in areas where no structure is operational. Only the province of Kinshasa saw a sharp increase in the number of households with access to a source of managed water: from 37% to 87% between 2007 and 2013 (EDS).

As to the rate of use of sanitary toilets by households, the provinces of Kinshasa and North Kivu stand out with 72% and 59% above the average, whereas this practice is almost non-existent in Mongala (1.4%) and Tshuapa (0.6%).

Lack of access to land in some provinces (notably Kwilu 33% and Lualaba 6%) due to the monopoly of large landowners, conflicts between farmers and ranchers, the promotion of protected areas and the abundance of mining and expansion of the agro-pastoral sector, thus limiting food availability for households.

The results of this analysis will be presented to the authorities for validation and then to the partners for exploitation. With regard to the size of the DRC provinces, the national TWG would like the territory to be the unit of analysis for the IPC Chronic in order to better inform decision-making for national authorities / their partners and to better target interventions. More than half of territories need appropriate assessments for a chronic analysis that is rigorous and meets the quality standards required by IPC.

The TWG extended to the NVAC will be activated to collect the data available in the territories to judge the relevance of conducting workshops in the provinces and a national validation only for territories with sufficient evidence over a period of ten years (January 2006 - December 2015). In 2016/2017, the DRC plans to conduct national surveys such as EDS, CFSVA, MICS, 1-2-3 etc.

The results of these surveys will provide the TWG with the opportunity to plan a second IPC Chronic to be carried out on the basis of the re-analysis of the indicators.