Joyce Musuya, a United Nations official, told the Security Council that the humanitarian situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is deteriorating rapidly and could become “devastating” if hostilities spread into the city of Goma.

"The crisis in Eastern DRC is at a dangerous point. The situation is deteriorating rapidly, and if hostilities spill into Goma, a densely populated urban center, the impact on civilians could be devastating," Musuya said, and announced that the United Nations was allocating US$17,000,000 from the Central Emergency Response Fund for immediate life‑saving interventions.

The announcement matters because the scale of need in the country is already large and growing. Musuya said more than 21,000,000 people need humanitarian assistance across the DRC and that approximately 1,000,000 people had sought refuge in neighboring countries. She warned that recent escalations in the east — particularly around Sake and Minova — have driven hundreds of thousands from their homes and frequently forced people to flee multiple times.

Hospitals and clinics are strained, Musuya said. "Hospitals, including Dosho and Kyashiro in Goma are overwhelmed. Medical facilities in Minova are also struggling to tend to the hundreds of people in need of treatment for gunshot and shrapnel wounds," she said, adding that bombings in overcrowded displacement sites have caused casualties, including among children, and destroyed shelters.

The briefing highlighted a sharp rise in sexual and gender‑based violence in eastern provinces: Musuya said gender‑based violence has "increased by 300% in recent years" and that "two‑thirds of all cases had occurred in three eastern provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu, and Ituri." She urged protection for women and girls and for all parties to spare civilians and civilian objects during military operations.

Msuya (sic) repeated calls from the UN leadership to uphold international humanitarian and human rights law and to ensure unimpeded humanitarian access. "We urge all parties to protect civilians and critical infrastructure they rely on, respect the civilian nature of displacement sites, and avoid using wide area explosives and heavy weapons in populated areas," she said.

In addition to the US$17,000,000 CERF allocation announced by Musuya for immediate life‑saving interventions, she made three specific asks of the Security Council and member states: ensure respect for international humanitarian law; facilitate rapid, safe humanitarian access; and use their influence to press for an end to hostilities. Musuya stressed that additional resources beyond the CERF allocation are urgently needed.

The briefing did not include a Security Council vote or a formal Council decision on the allocation; Musuya presented the funding announcement as action by UN humanitarian coordination mechanisms.

The Security Council then proceeded to the next item on its agenda.