DEVELOPMENT PATHWAYS FOR THE DRC TO 2050

The health system in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is characterized by a near-collapse due to conflict and mismanagement, with a high reliance on non-state actors and significant out-of-pocket costs for households. While life expectancy and mortality rates for infants and mothers have improved since 1990, the DRC continues to lag behind other low-income countries and is projected to miss 2030 Sustainable Development Goals for maternal and infant mortality. Severe child malnutrition remains a critical issue, with 43% of children under five suffering from chronic malnutrition. The country is expected to undergo an epidemiological transition in 2030, shifting from a dominance of communicable diseases—such as malaria, which causes 80% of deaths in children under five—to non-communicable diseases. Government health spending remains extremely low, at less than 4% of GDP as of 2017.

• The DRC health system has nearly collapsed due to mismanagement, lack of investment, and decades of conflict, resulting in a high dependency on non-state actors. In 2013, religious organisations managed 45% of hospitals, while the government managed 44% and private firms 11%.
• Access to healthcare is severely limited by funding gaps, corruption, and geography; 74% of the population live more than 5 km from a health centre. Households bear a disproportionate financial burden, funding 60%–70% of healthcare costs, significantly higher than the world average of 46%.
• Despite improvements in life expectancy (increasing from 53.7 years in 1990 to 62.5 in 2019) and reductions in infant and maternal mortality, the DRC is falling further behind other low-income countries and is projected to fail to meet the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals for these indicators.
• Child malnutrition is a severe crisis in the DRC, with 43% of children under five experiencing chronic malnutrition and 43% being stunted. This rate of stunting is significantly higher than the African average of 30% and the global average of 21.9%.
• The DRC is projected to reach its epidemiological transition in 2030, when deaths from non-communicable diseases will begin to exceed those from communicable diseases. Currently, communicable diseases are the primary cause of death for youth and children under five, with malaria accounting for 80% of deaths in the latter group.
• Government investment in health is among the lowest globally and fails to meet the Abuja Declaration target of 15% of GDP. In 2017, government healthcare expenditure was less than 4% of GDP, amounting to approximately US$2.00 per capita.

APA

Yeboua, K. (2023). DEVELOPMENT PATHWAYS FOR THE DRC TO 2050. Institute for Security Studies. https://futures.issafrica.org/special-reports/guide.pdf?report=country/drc&topic=07-health

Chicago

Yeboua, Kouassi. DEVELOPMENT PATHWAYS FOR THE DRC TO 2050. Institute for Security Studies, 2023. https://futures.issafrica.org/special-reports/guide.pdf?report=country/drc&topic=07-health.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Yeboua |first1=Kouassi |title=DEVELOPMENT PATHWAYS FOR THE DRC TO 2050 |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=15 May 2023 |url=https://futures.issafrica.org/special-reports/guide.pdf?report=country/drc&topic=07-health |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{yeboua2023development, author = {Yeboua, Kouassi}, title = {{DEVELOPMENT PATHWAYS FOR THE DRC TO 2050}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2023}, month = may, url = {https://futures.issafrica.org/special-reports/guide.pdf?report=country/drc&topic=07-health}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }