Multi-stakeholder community consultations as a multi-purpose research tool: experiences from the Democratic Republic of Congo: Deliverable 4.3; Documentation of multi-stakeholder community consultations (MSCC) in Africa

The Multi-Stakeholder Community Consultation (MSCC) is a participatory research tool that has been developed by the DR Congo team of TRAFIG and that will be applied in other countries in the course of the project too. By bringing together a mixed group of respondents (displaced, hosts, authorities, civil society), the tool is geared towards collecting additional insights through an interactive dialogue on intergroup relations, validating findings gathered through other methods, and jointly seeking solutions for problems that are identified by the participants. In this note we provide methodological guidance and share our experience of using the tool in the DRC. Other TRAFIG country teams, interested researchers and practitioners can learn from it and adapt it to their own needs

Figurations of displacement in the DRC: empirical findings and reflections on protracted displacement and translocal connections of Congolese IDPs

This working paper is based on empirical research on translocal figurations of displacement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It contains methodological reflections, central findings, and reflections on these findings. Drawing on the conceptual framework that was developed in TRAFIG working paper 1, this paper explores TRAFIG's central question: "How are protractedness, dependency and vulnerability related to the factors of local and translocal connectivity and mobility, and, in turn, how can connectivity and mobility be utilised to enhance the self-reliance and strengthen the resilience of displaced people?" The paper presents findings from the east of the DRC, where many internally displaced persons (IDPs) seek refuge in host communities. Findings show that prior connections with members in the host communities are usually within the domestic sphere and are important drivers for people's decision to flee to a specific place. In rebuilding their lives in displacement - and hence in their efforts to move out of protracted displacement and to become integrated - these contacts are often key to set in motion a 'chain of connectivity' that opens up new opportunities: One contact helps them to get in touch with the next contact. For IDPS, it is not so much the number of their connections that are important but the quality of these connections. A small number of vertical connections with socio-economically more powerful and/or betterintegrated contacts can sometimes be more helpful than a large number of horizontal connections with people that are in equally vulnerable positions. When IDPs use mobility as an asset to become integrated, this mobility is mostly used to free resources in the community of origin and to capitalise on these resources in the new environment. In this way, rural resources become part of people's urban livelihood strategies. By introducing these resources in the city and thereby drawing on their translocal connections, IDPs enrich the local economy and at the same time become more accepted and better integrated

Responding to the 2018-2020 Ebola Virus Outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Rethinking Humanitarian Approaches.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) presents a challenging context in which to respond to public health crises. Its 2018-2020 Ebola outbreak was the second largest in history. Lessons were known from the previous West African outbreak. Chief among these was the recognition that local action and involvement are key to establishing effective epidemic-response. It remains unclear whether and how this was achieved in DRC's Ebola response. Additionally, there is a lack of scholarship on how to build resilience (the ability to adapt or transform under pressure) in crisis-response. In this article, we critically review literature to examine evidence on whether and how communities were involved, trust built, and resilience strengthened through adaptation or transformation of DRC's 2018-2020 Ebola response measures. Overall, we found limited evidence that the response adapted to engage and involve local actors and institutions or respond to locally expressed concerns. When adaptations occurred, they were shaped by national and international actors rather than enabling local actors to develop locally trusted initiatives. Communities were "engaged" to understand their perceptions but were not involved in decision-making or shaping responses. Few studies documented how trust was built or analyzed power dynamics between different groups in DRC. Yet, both these elements appear to be critical in building effective, resilient responses. These failures occurred because there was no willingness by the national government or international agencies to concede decision-making power to local people. Emergency humanitarian response is entrenched in highly medicalized, military style command and control approaches which have no space for decentralizing decision-making to "non-experts". To transform humanitarian responses, international responders can no longer be regarded as "experts" who own the knowledge and control the response. To successfully tackle future humanitarian crises requires a transformation of international humanitarian and emergency response systems such that they are led, or shaped, through inclusive, equitable collaboration with local actors

Lockdown diaries: COVID-19 pandemic stories from the DRC and Sierra Leone

The global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are diverse and far-reaching, exposing fault lines in long-standing socio-economic crises. In countries historically impacted by colonialism, conflict and previous epidemics, much has been revealed about how these legacies manifest in the present, as sense is made of rapid change. Our new series uses diaries from people living under lockdown during the pandemic in the DRC and Sierra Leone to present these experiences first-hand, putting into question the nature of the crisis or, indeed, crises

Journaux du confinement: histoires de la pandémie de COVID-19 en RDC et en Sierra Leone

Les effets de la pandémie de COVID-19 à travers le monde sont profonds et variés, exposant souvent les lignes faille de crises socio-économiques sous-jacentes. Dans les pays historiquement impactés par la colonisation, les conflits armés et les épidémies, les héritages de ces crises continuent de se manifester dans le présent. Notre nouvelle série s’appuie sur les journaux de bord de personnes ayant vécu les périodes de confinement en RDC et en Sierra Leone, afin de mettre en lumière ces expériences et de s’interroger sur la nature de la crise, ou, plutôt, des crises

The impact of COVID-19 on the educational sector in eastern DRC

Patrick Milabyo Kyamusugulwa is Director General of the Bukavu University Medical College, where he leads an institution of 4000 students and 180 staff. In this post he reflects critically on the variable impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the DRC’s education system, the challenges his institution faced in response to government measures, and how these implications are further reflections of the country’s wider structural concerns

L’impact de COVID-19 sur le secteur éducatif à l’Est de la République Démocratique du Congo

Patrick Milabyo Kyamusugulwa est Directeur Général de l’Institut Supérieur des Techniques Médicales de Bukavu où il dirige une institution de 4000 étudiants et 180 agents. Il nous fait part de ses réflexions à l’impact variable du virus sur le système éducatif et examine comment ces implications reflètent les préoccupations structurelles plus larges du pays