Policy paper

UK–Democratic Republic of Congo development partnership summary, July 2023

Updated 20 July 2023

Introduction

The Strategy for International Development (IDS) places development at the heart of the UK’s foreign policy. It sets out a new approach to development, anchored in patient, long-term partnerships tailored to the needs of the countries we work with, built on mutual accountability and transparency. This approach goes beyond aid and brings the combined power of the UK’s global economic, scientific, security and diplomatic strengths to our development partnerships. Our four priorities are to deliver honest, reliable investment, provide women and girls with the freedom they need to succeed, step up our life-saving humanitarian work, and take forward our work on climate change, nature and global health. The Integrated Review Refresh (IR23) reiterates that sustainable development is central to UK foreign policy and sets out how the UK will go further and faster on development to reduce poverty and reinvigorate progress towards the SDGs. This Country Development Partnership Summary details how the IDS and IR23 will be put into practice with Democratic Republic of Congo.

Country context

The DRC matters to the UK and development is at the heart of the UK-DRC partnership. DRC is crucial to delivering global priorities on poverty reduction and prosperity, climate, net zero, and women and girls, all of which require progress on reducing conflict and humanitarian need and delivering sustainable development. We share the Government’s commitment to bringing stability to the East, delivering on the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular women’s empowerment, health and education, protecting the Congo Basin and fighting against climate change, and developing trade and investment to support economic growth and prosperity.

DRC is one of the poorest countries in the world. Conflict in eastern DRC has persisted for 25 years, leading to 5.9 million people displaced, high humanitarian needs and concerning rates of sexual violence. It remains near the bottom of the Human Development Index (HDI), ranking 163 out of 174 countries. Entrenched multidimensional poverty, hunger, and lack of access to quality basic services compounded by rapid population growth poses a formidable challenge. DRC’s population is growing rapidly at 3% per year and is expected to double before 2050, and in 2022 nearly 62% of Congolese (around 60 million people), lived on less than $2.15 a day (World Bank, 2023). DRC is one of the worst places in the world to be born a girl with 1 in 10 girls married before the age of 15, and more than 3 in 10 by age 18. The prevalence of gender-based violence is widespread, with more than half of women experiencing physical violence.

DRC is one of Africa’s biggest food security crisis. According to the 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan there are 26.4 million people in need across the country, of whom 13.4 million are women and girls, and a quarter of the population do not meet their daily food needs.

Growing local expertise and developments in vaccines, diagnostics and treatment have advanced DRC’s capacity to manage outbreaks of Ebola virus disease. However, limited access to basic health care, safe water and sanitation means that DRC remains highly vulnerable to outbreaks of communicable disease, with frequent outbreaks of preventable disease (for example, measles and cholera).

DRC has enormous potential for growth, trade and investment. It has 80 million hectares of arable land and is the largest country in the Congo Basin, home to the world’s second largest tropical rainforest. These forests are crucial to limiting increases in global temperatures. Its hydroelectric energy resources could power most of Africa. It is home to 70% of the global cobalt supply. Unlocking this potential will have huge benefits for the Congolese people and increase trade and economic growth opportunities for DRC.

Elections, due in December 2023, will be the fourth elections since multiparty democracy returned in 2006. Macroeconomic stability since the 2018 election has opened up space for economic growth and diversification. The rating agency Moody’s raised DRC’s credit rating to B3 with a stable outlook in November 2022, signalling that DRC is less risky for investors, which has a good impact on the country’s borrowing costs. At an estimated $64 billion in 2022, DRC’s economy performs well below potential given the country’s resources and opportunities. The DRC government has adopted a 2023 budget of $16 billion, but weaknesses in public financial management remain systemic and capital investment in basic services is minimal. DRC is ranked 166 out of 180 in the Perceptions of Corruption Transparency Index.

The DRC’s development vision from 2019 to 2023 is captured in its Strategic Development Plan (PNSD).

With work articulated across 5 pillars, the DRC aims to:

1. realise inclusive growth in human capital and social and cultural development

2. strengthen good governance including through restoration of State authority and consolidation of peace

3. consolidate economic growth and diversify and transform the economy

4. modernise infrastructure and promote reconstruction and land use planning

5. fight against climate change and promote sustainable and balanced development

Aligned with this plan, DRC has prioritised international diplomacy on climate finance (as a ‘solution country’) and implementation of free primary schooling and universal health coverage policies.

Why and how: the UK’s development offer

Our partnership with the DRC aligns with two key pillars set out in IR23, the International Development Strategy, and works towards delivering across a number of priority objectives, including global climate commitments, women & girls, economics, democracy, governance and security.

The UK is working to support a more resilient, democratic, and stable DRC where humanitarian needs and poverty are reduced and the UK is a key partner on peace building, climate change, net zero, women and girls, health and education.

The UK’s development offer is delivered through a combination of diplomatic and technical expertise and a multi-sector ODA portfolio, focused on 5 goals:

1. promoting long-term stability, peace and security in DRC

2. delivering humanitarian programmes and advocacy that prioritise assistance where it is needed most, prevent cycles of crisis, and enhance protection of civilians from violence

3. strengthening governance and accountability

4. empowering women and girls and building more resilient populations through improved maternal and child health and education

5. safeguarding DRC’s globally significant forests and biodiversity, while supporting sustainable economic development

DRC is a UK priority country for British International Partnerships, Ending Preventable Deaths, Women Peace and Security, Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, Human Rights and Modern Slavery. The UK is a key development partner to the DRC government, and our humanitarian assistance has provided lifesaving assistance to over four million people since 2017. In 2021 to 2022 we were the sixth largest bilateral donor, and a major multilateral contributor. The UK is among the top donors for multilateral funds which operate at scale in DRC, including the Global Partnership for Education, Education Cannot Wait, GAVI (the Vaccine Alliance), the Global Fund, the Global Financing Facility for Health, and the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI), of which we are currently the Chair. Under the British International Partnership, we work closely with British International Investment to support small and medium enterprises and opportunities for international trade and investment.

In the last 2 years, the UK has made good progress against our country goals and delivered innovative policy and developmental outcomes. Alongside diplomatic engagement on civilian protection, humanitarian coordination and effectiveness, since 2017 our humanitarian programming has supported 2.5 million people with lifesaving humanitarian assistance, treated 350,000 children for severe acute malnutrition, and provided support to over 13,000 survivors of trauma and sexual and gender-based violence. Meanwhile, our education programme supported over 5,000 schools, helping over 3.6 million children to improve their basic literacy skills, trained almost 40,000 teachers, and provided learning materials during COVID-19 to over 250,000 students. On health issues, UK support enabled over 1.1 million safe births and 1 million children receiving their full vaccinations. Under the IMAGINE programme, we supported the first public-private partnership in the water sector and provided 1.1 million people with access to water. Finally, on climate issues, the UK provided a diplomatic ‘spotlight’ for Congo Basin countries at the Climate COP26 in Glasgow, where UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson signed a 10-year partnership with the President of DRC, on behalf of the Central African Forest Initiative.

The UK works closely with international partners on key policy issues including health and education, governance, peace and stability, and climate. The UN peacekeeping mission, MONUSCO, is the second largest globally (to which the UK contributed approx. £45 million in 2021 to 2022). The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank are key partners on macro-economic stability, reform and social sectors. As major stakeholders to these institutions, we engage closely to ensure the major investments made in DRC (for example, over $1 billion in new financing for the education sector alone) are well-coordinated and impactful.

Looking forward, the UK will continue to play a leading role in promoting conditions for elections that are credible, inclusive, transparent and provide a basis for a prosperous and stable DRC in the future. As the DRC receives less aid per person compared with many other countries (World Bank, 2023), carefully deployed funding and expertise from the UK can make a big difference, delivering tangible results while supporting systems strengthening and longer-term, developmental reforms at the provincial and national level.

Who we work with

The UK works in partnership with the DRC government towards key objectives such as peace and stability, extending free education access, and progressive implementation of universal free healthcare. Our programming is aligned to government objectives and national strategies, with a focus on gender mainstreaming and strengthening core systems for sustainable progress. Our programmes are delivered through credible and experienced partners, including non-governmental organisations, multilaterals and the private sector, as well as through joint funding arrangements with likeminded donors. We select partners because they deliver value for money and have tried and tested experience of working successfully in countries like DRC. For example, we work with IMA World Health to deliver our maternal and child health services, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to protect civilians from abuses, Mercy Corps to deliver humanitarian emergency response and Save the Children for our education programming.

Through our whole-of-aid approach, our bilateral programmes are complemented by centrally-managed programmes as well as important multilateral efforts which can deliver at scale, for example, Global Partnership for Education and GAVI (the Vaccine Alliance), either by piloting new approaches (for example on girls’ education) or by providing discrete, technical assistance which can be more nimble and adaptive. On climate in particular, the UK’s efforts take a regional approach – such as with the UK-Chaired Central African Forest Initiative – given that the Congo Basin Forest crosses many political boundaries.

We work with other international donors to ensure that we can maximise the benefits of our policy engagement and our programmes for the people that need it the most. For example, we are an active partner in donor coordination groups both at the strategic level and in specific sectors (we currently chair and co-chair the environmental and humanitarian working groups and previously chaired the education working group). Finally, we engage proactively with the World Bank and IMF, given the scale of their investment in the country (for example, the February 2023 World Bank portfolio in DRC totalled $7.36 billion), by supporting key government reforms, including public financial and administrative management. The approval of a $500 million Development Policy Operation (DPO) in 2022 – the first since 2005 – signals World Bank’s recognition of the reform program which is being implemented by the government.

To maximise value for money and help support long-term, developmental change, we focus our official development assistance on a selected number of sectors where the UK has deep-expertise and a comparative advantage, and in a limited number of provinces. We constantly seek to improve programme impact from design onwards, including through a robust monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL). Our portfolio balances shorter-term support (for example, meeting basic needs for survival) with long-term efforts to enable DRC to prosper (for example, economic development) and look after its own people (for example, systems strengthening). We maintain flexibility to shift between priorities.

Key programmes

As a result of high and increasing humanitarian need, the UK currently spends approximately half of its portfolio on humanitarian assistance. This will continue in the coming years. The remainder of our programming is built around areas of UK comparative advantage and our existing experience and expertise in DRC. To maximize the impact of funding, the UK’s development support is focus on specific provinces, to deliver more transformational results. The UK delivers a wide range of bilateral programming in support of our humanitarian, education, healthcare, governance, and private sector development goals, of which the largest 3 programmes are as follows:

Humanitarian Action and Recovery after Crisis (HARC) (2023 to March 2026)

In its first year, the programme will deliver humanitarian support (£21million) to over 300,000 people. This will be the foundation for further, multi-year humanitarian programming.

Essential Services for Maternal and Child Health (SEMI) (April 2022 to March 2025)

A £37 million programme which supports essential maternal, child and infant health services to end preventable deaths in one of the poorest provinces in DRC and strengthen the health system at national and provincial level.

Private Sector Development (PSD) in DRC (July 2012 to March 2024)

The £102.5 million PSD programme aims to foster sustainable economic activities to support DRC’s private sector to be an engine of green growth, job creation and poverty alleviation, thus improving the lives of 1 million poor people by 2024.

Other key programmes currently active within the UK portfolio include:

1. Accès et Égalité pour l’Éducation des Filles (AXE-FILLES; Equal access for girls’ education): a £35 million programme which will begin implementing in 2023 over the coming four years

2. Programme to support accountability and inclusion (PARI): a £15 million programme to support the 2023 elections and to support key governance reforms by improving transparency, accountability, and effectiveness at both the central and provincial government levels

3. Programme d’Appui pour la consolidation de la stabilité DRC (PACS; Support Programme for the Consolidation of Stability in DRC): a £16 million stabilisation programme in eastern DRC. We are also scoping the possibility of a new economic development programme focused on green growth

Recently completed programmes include the £37.7 million ACCELERE programme (Improving access, quality, and governance of primary education in the DRC), which was jointly funded and managed together with USAID. Implemented from October 2014 to December 2022, ACCELERE worked on reducing the barriers to primary education by providing access to alternative/accelerated learning programmes. It also improved the quality of primary education through teacher training and the provision of new learning/teaching materials. Later years of the programme focused on sectoral governance challenges, working to make the payroll more transparent, and supporting the government to bring in free primary education as a landmark policy. It targeted eight provinces across DRC including those which are affected by conflict and displacement. In addition, the Women’s Integrated Sexual Health (WISH) programme – implemented in 29 countries around the world, including DRC from June 2017 to March 2023 – averted 900,000 unintended pregnancies and 260,000 unsafe abortions and prevented 3.3 million maternal deaths (thanks to an approximate spend of £26 million).

UK support to DRC has built-in agility and flexibility, to allow the portfolio to change in response to the context, for example increased violence and instability, multiple health emergencies, and a volcanic eruption. For example, during a spike in humanitarian need, our funding to agile organisations such as the ICRC and our rapid response programming, were important tools that allowed the UK to respond to a rapidly changing situation.

Effective results monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) are essential for good management of our programme portfolio, helping to ensure that FCDO funds are used well and achieving the desired impact and outcomes, not only for ourselves but our partners and the communities in which we work. As outlined in FCDO’s Programme Operating Framework, MEL is an integral part of our project design, implementation, and completion. Our programmes use results frameworks in conjunction with regular partner meetings and Annual Reviews to ensure delivery. Our programmes make extensive use of Third-Party Monitoring (TPM) which is important in the validation of our results, generating not only assurance but beneficiary feedback and programme learning. TPM is also an important element in our approach to safeguarding and fraud detection. For large and complex programmes, full scale evaluations (such as for our health programme) are undertaken. We proactively and regularly monitor progress against our strategic goals across the portfolio.

Financial information

Initial allocations have been set internally to deliver the priorities set out in the International Development Strategy (May 2022) and the Integrated Review Refresh 2023, based on the FCDO’s Spending Review 2021 settlement.

The department’s spending plans for the period 2022-23 to 2024-25 have been revisited to ensure HM Government continues to spend around 0.5% of Gross National Income (GNI) on ODA. This was in the context of the significant and unexpected costs incurred to support the people of Ukraine and Afghanistan escape oppression and conflict and find refuge in the UK, and others seeking asylum. The Government provided additional resources of £1 billion in 2022 to 2023 and £1.5 billion in 2023 to 2024 to help meet these unanticipated costs. The Government remains committed to returning ODA spending to 0.7% of GNI when the fiscal situation allows, in line with the approach confirmed by the House of Commons in July 2021.

The country developoment partnership summaries include the breakdown of programme budgets allocated to individual countries for 2023 to 2024 and 2024 to 2025. These allocations are indicative and subject to revision as, by its nature, the department’s work is dynamic. Programme allocations are continually reviewed to respond to changing global needs, including humanitarian crises, fluctuations in GNI and other ODA allocation decisions.

It should be noted that these figures do not reflect the full range of UK ODA spending in these individual countries as they do not include spend delivered via core contributions to multilateral organisations, or regional programmes delivered by the FCDO’s central departments. Other UK Government departments also spend a large amount of ODA overseas. Details of ODA spent by other UK government departments can be found in their annual report and accounts and the Statistics for International Development.

Bilateral ODA anticipated spend in financial year 2023 to 2024 is estimated as £44 million and indicative bilateral ODA allocation for financial year 2024 to 2025 is £105 million.

In regard to financial year 2022 to 2023 ODA spend, 78% is marked as being principally or significantly focused on promoting gender equality and 2% is marked as being principally or significantly focused on disability inclusion.

Figure 1. Financial year 2023 to 2024: humanitarian, 58%; women and girls, 31%; climate change, nature and global health, 5%; British International Investment, 1%.

FCDO Official Development Assistance allocation

Allocated ODA budget for financial year 2023 to 2024	Indicative ODA budget for financial year 2024 to 2025
£44.6 million	£105 million

Note: this excludes the very significant spend through CMPs and multilateral institutions, much of which is ODA.

Supporting information sources

• Kinshasa Embassy page
• DevTracker
• D-portal
• FCDO Evaluation Repository