More than 21 million people in the Democratic Republic of Congo now require urgent humanitarian aid, Oxfam France reported Thursday.
The crisis, described as “one of the most serious and forgotten” worldwide, shows no signs of slowing, the charity warned.
Eastern DRC suffers the most, a region rich in resources yet scarred by decades of brutal conflict and instability.
Violence surged this year when the M23 armed group, supported by Rwanda, captured Goma and Bukavu in a rapid offensive.
Since January, more than 1.6 million Congolese have fled their homes, swelling the internally displaced population to 5.2 million.
This makes the DRC second only to Sudan in the number of displaced people worldwide, aid agencies say.
Food insecurity is dire, with 28 million facing hunger, while health services collapse and essential infrastructure lies in ruins.
Sexual violence has escalated sharply, with Oxfam France reporting “one woman raped every four minutes” across conflict zones.
International aid is dwindling, with funding for critical relief dropping by two-thirds over the past year, the charity added.
Oxfam France called on the October 30 conference on the African Great Lakes region in France to take real action.
The meeting seeks to coordinate a global response and support mediation efforts by Qatar and the United States in the conflict.
Last year, the United States provided 70 percent of DRC aid, while France covered a mere 0.5 percent of humanitarian needs.
Oxfam warned that without increased international support, the humanitarian catastrophe in eastern Congo risks spiralling even further.