Target numbers: WASH- 17100

The crisis has led to the destruction of critical infrastructure, including water supply systems and health facilities, and has severely compromised access to essential services. In addition, the main roads around Goma were blocked, cutting off vital access points, while the city's airport was paralyzed, halting all evacuations and humanitarian efforts. As a result, basic services were largely paralyzed. The displaced, having lost everything in the fighting, are seeking refuge with host families, in abandoned homes, schools, and churches, facing precarious living conditions and limited access to basic resources such as food, clean water, medical care, and shelter.Electricity, internet and drinking water were cut off for several days, forcing the population to use untreated water from Lake Kivu, exposing thousands of people to the immediate risk of water-borne diseases such as cholera. Overcrowding in informal settlements and host communities has further intensified vulnerabilities, leading to food insecurity, inadequate shelter, and a heightened risk of disease outbreaks, including cholera. Protection concerns remain acute, particularly for women and girls, who face heightened risks of gender-based violence (GBV), exploitation, family separations, abuse, and other forms of community violence.

The recent peak of violence in January 2025 caused by M23 conflict in Goma has displaced 700,000 people, with 43,500 new displacements between 6 and 25 January (UNHCR, 30 January 2025). This brings the total number of displaced people nationwide to 6.4 million, including 2.9 million in 2024 (IOM).The capture of Goma on 24 January has exacerbated the crisis, destroying infrastructure, limiting services and increasing overcrowding. Women and girls are at increased risk of GBV, while access to water, electricity, food and markets remains critically low (UNHCR, 30 January 2025). WASH services are severely strained, with critical water shortages and high risks of cholera, Mpox and measles (OCHA, 3 February 2025; UNICEF, 31 January 2025). Many residents rely on Lake Kivu for water or queue at the Plage du Peuple station (UNICEF, 2025). Overcrowded IDP sites (schools, churches and informal settlements) and damaged infrastructure exacerbate conditions, leaving thousands without clean water or sanitation. UNICEF and OCHA report increased open defecation, poor waste management and increased risk of cholera, particularly affecting children, pregnant women and the elderly. Women and girls remain vulnerable to GBV due to inadequate sanitation. Humanitarian gaps persist. NGO warehouses have been looted, camp water systems destroyed, and boreholes insufficient to meet demand. Soap, water treatment and menstrual hygiene products remain critically lacking. UNICEF (1 February 2025) calls for urgent WASH interventions. Despite a cease-fire the overall security situation remains fragile, which might hinder acute humanitarian interventions in the coming weeks and months.

Women and vulnerable households will be targeted.