Country Evaluation Brief: Democratic Republic of the Congo

Democratic Republic of the Congo: International development assistance to the DRC

This report, a Country Evaluation Brief on Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), systematises evaluation findings from previous evaluations of the international development support to DRC. Efforts cover a broad range of issues, from health through women’s rights and gender equality to climate and forests. 

Facing multiple crises 

DRC is Africa’s second largest country in terms of area and its fourth most populous country with close to 90 million inhabitants. The country faces multiple simultaneous crises, including violent conflict and instability; widespread poverty; high levels of violence against women; malnutrition and weak food security; and environmental challenges such as deforestation and forest degradation. These challenges are compounded by the country’s rapid population growth. Development support constitutes about 6 per cent of the country’s economy.

Main findings concerning international development support to DRC: 

• Whilst substantial donor assistance has contributed to development improvements, multiple crises on an enormous scale mean DRC faces funding shortages and an inadequate response to its vulnerable populations. An estimated 60 million persons live under the global poverty line of USD 1.90 per day.
• Decades of civil war and widespread hunger gave rise to humanitarian assistance as the focus area of development assistance. Almost half of the 2019 bilateral official development assistance was dedicated to the humanitarian sector.
• Gender was the most common cross-cutting issue included in the evaluations. Whilst some degree of change was observed in women’s participation and in reducing gender inequality, efforts to alter gender norms mostly had a superficial impact. 
• Interventions in forest protection produced encouraging results in terms of sustainable forest use and community solidarity. Community-based development initiatives created real improvements in the livelihoods of forest-dependent communities.

The report is commissioned by Norad’s Department for Evaluation and carried out by hera. The report draws on findings presented in 25 evaluations and reviews published since 2016 of major donor-funded programmes and projects in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).