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CAUTION: The following links and
accompanying text have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation
in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in the early years of the 21st
Century. Some of these links may lead to websites that present
allegations that are unsubstantiated, misleading or even false.
No attempt has been made to validate their authenticity or to verify their
content. HOW TO USE THIS WEBPAGE Students If you are looking
for material to use in a term-paper, you are advised to scan the postings on this
page and others to see which aspects of poverty are of particular interest to
you. You might be interested in
exploring the relationship between distribution of labor and per-capita GDP,
for example. Perhaps your paper could
focus on life expectancy or infant mortality.
Other factors of interest might be unemployment, literacy, access to
basic services, etc. On the other
hand, you might choose to include some of the possible outgrowths of poverty
such as Human Trafficking,
Street Children,
or even Prostitution. There is a lot to the subject of
Poverty. Scan other countries as well
as this one. Draw comparisons between
activity in adjacent countries and/or regions. Meanwhile, check out some of the Term-Paper resources
that are available on-line. Teachers Check out some of
the Resources
for Teachers attached to this website. *** Extreme Weather *** The
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is a country that is highly vulnerable
to the impacts of climate change. According to the United States Agency for
International Development (USAID), the DRC is susceptible to more extreme
weather events and changes in total precipitation and rainfall variability,
which are likely to exacerbate social vulnerability, food insecurity, high
rates of poverty, and political instability. In
early May 2023, communities in South Kivu experienced catastrophic flooding,
resulting in the deaths of hundreds of people and the destruction of over
3,000 homes. The Guardian reports that torrential rains have steadily
increased in the DRC, even during the dry season, while deforestation in the
DRC is affecting the entire Congo basin ecosystem with flooding and erosion.
– Microsoft BING Copilot World
Bank Climate & Develoment Reports Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Country Climate and Development Report, 16 Nov 2023 openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/40599 [accessed 9 Dec 2024] This
Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) aims to support DRC's efforts
to achieve its development goals within a changing climate by quantifying the
impacts of climate change on the economy and highlighting policies and
interventions needed to strengthen the country's climate resilience on many
different levels. The report captures the interplay between DRC's
development, climate challenges, and climate policies, with the objective of
identifying synergies and tradeoffs. The CCDR supports the strategic vision
of the Government of DRC as articulated in its 2030 National Strategic
Development Plan ("Plan National Stratégique
de Développement" (PNSD)) to reach
middle-income country (MIC) status by 2035, and by 2050, become a diversified
inclusive economy spurred by sustainable growth. It identifies the priorities
needed in order to launch the most impactful, cost-effective actions to boost
adaptation, build resilience, and foster low-carbon growth, while delivering
on broader development goals. *** ARCHIVES *** The
World Factbook – Democratic Republic of the Congo U.S. Central Intelligence Agency CIA www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/cg.html [accessed 23
December 2020] World Factbook
website moved ---> www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/congo-democratic-republic-of-the/ [accessed 5 January 2021] Poverty
remains widespread in DRC, and the country failed to meet any Millennium
Development Goals by 2015. DRC also concluded its program with the IMF in
2015. The price of copper – the DRC’s primary export - plummeted in 2015 and
remained at record lows during 2016-17, reducing government revenues,
expenditures, and foreign exchange reserves, while inflation reached nearly
50% in mid-2017 – its highest level since the early 2000s. GDP -
per capita (PPP): $800 (2017
est.) GDP – composition
by sector of origin agriculture: 19.7% (2017 est.) industry: 43.6% (2017 est.) services: 36.7% (2017 est.) Unemployment
rate: N/A Population
below poverty line: 63% (2014
est.) Maternal
mortality rate: 473
deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.) Infant
mortality rate: total: 64.5
deaths/1,000 live births Life
expectancy at birth: total population: 61 years Drinking
water source: improved: total: 55.2% of
population Physicians
density: 0.07 physicians/1,000 population (2017) Sanitation
facility access: improved: total: 40.7% of
population Electricity
access: electrification - total population: 17.1% (2016) The
Borgen Project – Democratic Republic of the Congo
DRC borgenproject.org/category/drc/ [accessed 25 January 2021] The Borgen Project works with U.S. leaders to utilize the United
States’ platform behind efforts toward improving living conditions for the
world’s poor. It is an innovative,
national campaign that is working to make poverty a focus of U.S. foreign
policy. It believes that leaders of
the most powerful nation on earth should be doing more to address global
poverty. From ending segregation to providing women with the right to vote,
nearly every wrong ever righted in history was achieved through advocacy. The
Borgen Project addresses the big picture, operating
at the political level advancing policies and programs that improve living
conditions for those living on less than $1 per day. ~
Indigenous People Of The Congolese Rainforest borgenproject.org/indigenous-people-congolese-rainforest/ ~
5 Facts About Child Poverty In The Drc borgenproject.org/child-poverty-in-the-drc/ ~
Sdg Goal 1 In The Democratic Republic Of The
Congo borgenproject.org/sdg-goal-1-in-the-democratic-republic-of-the-congo/ ~
Improving Internet Access In The Drc borgenproject.org/internet-access-in-the-drc/ ~
Ongoing Poverty In Democratic Republic Of The Congo borgenproject.org/ongoing-poverty-in-democratic-republic-of-the-congo-drc/ ~
War Child Uk Helps Children In Conflict Zones borgenproject.org/war-child-uk-helps-children/ Hunger Hotspots - FAO-WFP early warnings on acute food insecurity - March to July 2021 outlook Food and Agriculture Org of the UN FAO, World Food Program WFP, 2021 [accessed 30 May 2021] COUNTRIES
WITH CATASTROPHIC SITUATIONS: FAMINE-LIKE CONDITIONS OR FACTORS LEADING TO A
RISK OF FAMINE -- In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, currently the
country with the highest estimated number of food-insecure people worldwide,
nearly 5 million are projected to be in Emergency (IPC Phase 4) levels of
acute food insecurity between January and June 2021. This reflects a combination
of multiple shocks, including violence, natural hazards, epidemics, economic
decline and the socio-economic impact of COVID 19. Democratic
Republic of Congo Faces Worst Hunger Crisis in the World: UN Joe McCarthy, Global Citizen, 8 April 2021 www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/hunger-crisis-in-democratic-republic-of-congo/ [accessed 9 April 2021] The hunger
crisis is inseparable from the broader crisis of poverty. Prior to COVID-19,
roughly 43% of children were malnourished. Malnourishment happens when
children receive so little nutrition their bodies can no longer function
properly. Long-term malnutrition can lead to lifelong development
consequences. FAO and
WFP report that certain demographics are disproportionately affected by the
hunger crisis, including those who have been displaced from their homes,
women-led households, and children. The UN
reports that many families are surviving on leaves boiled in water, while
many farmers have had their homes burned down and crops stolen. Many of the
people most affected are too poor to buy food in markets: The
DR Congo Crisis: many tragedies combined How tough is life in the
Democratic Republic of Congo? World Vision, 2 October 2020 www.worldvision.ca/stories/dr-congo-crisis-facts-and-how-to-help#3 [accessed 23 December 2020] In
Facts about Poverty in the Democratic Republic of Congo, The Borgen Project noted the ways poverty affects the
country’s people – especially those in rural areas. Here are some DRC facts
from their site: About
80 per cent of the country’s people live in extreme poverty. Poverty
is most intense in rural areas, and economic downturns have the greatest
impact on rural families. About one-third of the country’s population has
been displaced by conflict, leaving millions of people struggling to survive. Years
of conflict destroyed infrastructure for life necessities like clean water,
sanitation and medical care. Less
than one-quarter of the country’s people has access to clean water. The
Eastern Congo Initiative notes that “the absence of schools, healthcare and
reliable income-generating opportunities hinders communities’ ability to
emerge from crisis.” Action
Against Hunger - Democratic Republic of the Congo www.actionagainsthunger.org/countries/africa/democratic-republic-congo [accessed 21 March 2021] Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC) is Africa’s second largest country, with great
mineral and natural resources. For decades, DRC has suffered a multitude of
crises: armed conflicts, political tensions, population displacements,
epidemics, undernutrition, and food insecurity. Extreme
poverty, displacement, lack of functioning basic services, and poor
infrastructure resulted in one of the world's most severe humanitarian
crises, with 15.6 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in 2019.
Measles, Ebola, and cholera epidemics worsened the situation in vast areas of
DRC. The
World Bank in Democratic Republic of Congo www.worldbank.org/en/country/drc/overview [accessed 18 April 2021] The
World Bank is helping to fight poverty and improve living standards for the
people of the Democratic Republic of Congo, through education, energy, health
and other social services. Looking
back a few years … Advameg, Inc., Encyclopedia of the Nations www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Africa/Congo-Democratic-Republic-of-the-DROC-ECONOMY.html [accessed 23 December 2020] Because
the government only controlled the Western and Southwestern regions of the
DROC in 2002, any estimates of the state of the economy applied only to those
regions. The war caused an increase of government debt; reduced government
revenue and economic output; increased corruption; caused a collapse of the
banking system; and, because many industries and businesses could not
operate, relegated much of the population to subsistence agriculture and
barter. All material
used herein reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107 for
noncommercial, nonprofit, and educational use. PLEASE RESPECT
COPYRIGHTS OF COMPONENT ARTICLES. Cite this webpage as: Prof. Martin
Patt, "Poverty - DRC", http://gvnet.com/poverty/Congo.htm,
[accessed <date>] |
