As the conflict has been raging in parts of the country for nearly three decades, with children paying the heaviest price, more than 26.4 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance in the DRC, or about one in every four people, including 14.2 million children, said Save the Children in a statement issued Tuesday.

In reaction to the latest rebel attack early Monday on a camp for displaced people in the eastern Ituri province, which killed at least 46 civilians, including 23 children, the charity organization is calling on donors to immediately release additional funds to help survivors with urgent medical care.

"As the number of people injured and children separated due to these attacks continues to grow, Save the Children is calling on donors to immediately release additional funds to help survivors with urgent medical care, cooking supplies for those whose shelters were burned, and support for family tracing and reunification activities for children separated from their caregivers in the chaos," said Cecilia Thiam, Save the Children’s humanitarian director in the DRC.

Save the Children has been present in Ituri Province, one of the country’s most impacted by conflict, since 1998 and runs a range of life-saving programs including in nutrition, hygiene and child protection. It has also run primary health care through mobile clinics and an advanced health care approach to displaced people since January 2023.

20 January 2018. Kananga, Kasaï region, Democratic Republic of Congo. Saint Martyr Health Clinic during a malnutrition screening. UNICEF/UN0157537/Tremeau 20 January 2018.