Since the resumption of fighting between the Congolese army, the M23/AFC armed group, and their respective allies in late 2021, MSF teams have regularly alerted the public to the alarming level of sexual violence observed in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), particularly in the North Kivu province, where most of the fighting has been concentrated.

Each year, admissions of sexual violence victims and survivors in MSF-supported facilities have increased in this province, especially in the vast displaced persons camps and sites around Goma, where more than 600,000 people have settled in the past years, fleeing the fighting. In 2024, almost 40,000 victims and survivors were treated by MSF - an absolute record.

Since the beginning of 2025, the issue of sexual violence has not seen any respite and our teams have continued to record a very worrying number of admissions despite the major contextual change in the region. The year has been marked by an intensification of clashes and increased territorial control by M23/AFC in North-Kivu, which spilled over to South Kivu, the neighbouring province. Following the capture of Goma by the M23/AFC, the capital of North Kivu, and the forced dismantlement of displacement camps, MSF teams have reoriented their activities, reinforced regular projects and sent emergency teams across both provinces. Our teams have notably adapted their care for survivors in health structures in and around the city. In Goma, nearly 7,400 victims and survivors were treated by MSF between January and April 2025. Twenty kilometres west of the town, in the small town of Saké, more than 2,400 victims and survivors were also treated over the same period.

While the numbers are particularly high in and around a large city like Goma, the situation is also worrying in the rest of North Kivu province and in the South Kivu province. Most of the testimonies gathered described acts committed by armed individuals, often unidentified. The proliferation of armed men, both combatants and civilians, and the increase of criminality have resulted in consistently high numbers of admissions for sexual violence in both provinces.

The current situation is concerning both from the perspective of civilian protection and the necessity to provide care to survivors of sexual violence. MSF is especially worried by the fact that services for survivor's care are increasingly difficult to access or lack the means to provide optimal care due to the closure of humanitarian programs for security reasons and budget cuts.