U.N. reports new displacement in eastern DRC, updates humanitarian responses in several countries

U.N. humanitarian agencies on Friday gave a series of updates on crises across Africa and the Pacific, reporting new displacement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and detailing responses to disasters and needs in Burkina Faso, Mozambique, the Central African Republic and Vanuatu.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reported that violence has displaced 237,000 people since the start of the year in the east of the country. North and South Kivu provinces are home to about 4,600,000 internally displaced people, the agencies said. Intense fighting in Masisi and Lubero territories forced roughly 150,000 people to flee earlier in the year, and local authorities in South Kivu's Fizi territory reported about 84,000 people displaced, the briefing said.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said partners had reported at least 30 people killed in attacks in several villages of Lubero territory in the week referenced and that around 30,000 people had fled to the city of Butembo and surrounding areas. Lubero territory was described as hosting roughly 360,000 displaced people. U.N. teams were conducting assessments and said they would continue to deliver aid as security permits.

In Burkina Faso, U.N. agencies and partners released a 2025 humanitarian needs and response plan in Ouagadougou that aligns with the transitional authorities' national response plan. The U.N. said nearly 6,000,000 people are estimated to need humanitarian assistance across the country this year and the plan aims to assist 3,700,000 people. The briefing noted that donors last year provided about $410,000,000—described as the most ever provided—but that figure covered only about 44% of the assessed requirements for the response.

In the Central African Republic, U.N. peacekeeping and partners inaugurated the first multiservice border post in Bembere on the border with Chad. The U.N. said the facility, built and equipped by the peacekeeping mission MINUSCA, houses internal security forces and national agencies under one roof to improve border management and advance a national border management policy.

OCHA reported that tropical cyclone Tikeledi made landfall in northern Mozambique earlier in the week, where authorities had reported six deaths and more than 70,000 people affected as assessments continued. The U.N. said more than 9,200 houses and over 40 health facilities were damaged or destroyed, a bridge was damaged, and more than 100 schools were impacted, disrupting education for about 18,000 students. Humanitarian partners established 55 transitional learning spaces while plans were made to repair more than 120 classrooms. The U.N. said resource reallocation from other responses had been required to scale up the cyclone response.

In Vanuatu, U.N. agencies said it has been one month since a 7.3 magnitude earthquake that killed 14 people and affected around 80,000; the U.N. allocated $1,000,000 from the Central Emergency Response Fund to support response and recovery.

Why this matters: The combined updates underline persistent large-scale displacement and the limits of current humanitarian financing and logistics across multiple crises. U.N. officials urged respect for international humanitarian law and continued donor support as agencies ramp up responses.