Cooperation Program Democratic Republic of the Congo

Exit from project work in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Since its foundation over twenty years ago, Mission 21 has been involved in projects in the Democratic Republic (DR) of Congo. The focus of the project work has been on the Kwango region, a "region almost forgotten by the state", as the local population describes it. The region is characterized by extreme poverty and almost non-existent infrastructure. There is a lack of all the basic necessities of life, food, clean water, access to education and healthcare.

Due to insufficient compliance with our standards of good governance, Mission 21 was unfortunately forced to end its project cooperation with its partner organizations Communauté Evangelique du Kwango (CEK) and ACCOJED in 2024.

Mission 21 deeply regrets that the organizational conditions at our previous partners in the DR Congo are no longer in place to be able to carry out professional development cooperation in accordance with our standards.

As part of a phasing out at the end of 2025, Mission 21's involvement in the DR Congo will focus on capacity building for project managers and supporting emergency aid by distributing medicines, food and hygiene products in collaboration with an independent local person of trust. We will also conduct advocacy with the authorities and international NGOs and draw attention to the need in Kwango.

We are very grateful to all donors for their financial support for the planned outphasing measures, as the need for support remains as great as ever.