Democratic Republic of the Congo

Heartland Alliance International (HAI) has worked in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) since 2009, providing mental health and psychosocial support services and access to justice for survivors of trafficking and gender-based violence and other individuals impacted by the complex emergency, and developing women’s leadership and empowerment programs. Through support from the U.S. government, the World Bank, and private donors, HAI provides direct services to individuals, strengthens the capacity of local institutions, and advocates with key stakeholders to improve public policy.

In DRC, HAI focuses on:

Empowering Women

Background: Gender-Based Discrimination and Violence

While DRC is rich in natural resources, a complex emergency spanning twenty years has been one of the more severe conflicts since World War II, claiming the lives of more than 5 million people. Eastern DRC has been the hardest hit by the conflict, and intermittent violence – including reports of armed groups killing civilians, perpetrating widespread sexual violence, and destroying property – persists throughout much of the region in spite of the country’s democratic transition in 2006. Women and girls are disproportionately affected through high rates of gender-based violence at the hands of militants and civilians, which impacts physical and psychological well-being.

Programs: Empowering Women:

  • For women in the mining sector, HAI provides training and materials for income generating activities and works to strengthen women’s artisanal mining cooperatives and associations, allowing women to assume leadership roles in their communities and establish protection for individuals.
  • HAI equips women for the poorest rural areas with political and economic skills to promote their participation in peace and development efforts at the grassroots level.
  • HAI also provides women with mental health and psychosocial support services that are tailored to their specific concerns and needs as they work toward their collective self-empowerment.

 Impact: Empowering Women

  • HAI has provided training and materials for alternative income generating activities to more than 300 women in the mining sector
    • 80% of these women were generating income within 2-4 months
  • HAI helped three women’s mining cooperatives obtain formal certification and strengthened seven women’s collectives
  • HAI has helped establish 24 women-led microenterprises
    • 94% of the small businesses were generating profits within months
  • HAI empowered 470 women from rural communities to lead 7 local debate clubs and 14 successful advocacy initiatives to advance the UN Security Resolution 1325 agenda

Preventing Human Trafficking and Supporting Survivors

Background: Human Trafficking

As individuals in Eastern DRC struggle to combat pervasive, extreme poverty, many men, women, and children become vulnerable to sex and labor trafficking or having their rights exploited in the mining industry. Few resources exist for victims of trafficking or workers struggling to defend their rights.

Programs: Counter-Trafficking and Workers’ Rights:

  • HAI works with civil society and the DRC government to establish formal mechanisms to proactively identify victims of labor and sexual exploitation and refer them to appropriate care. Once identified, HAI offers a holistic approach to supporting victims of trafficking, integrating mobile medical care, emergency shelter, trauma-informed mental health services, economic reintegration, and legal assistance.
  • HAI conducts research into mining conditions and advocates on behalf of workers rights.

 Impact: Counter-Trafficking and Workers’ Rights

  • HAI has helped identify and protect more than 1,250 vulnerable victims of trafficking
  • HAI and three local human rights NGOs have educated 9,000 mine workers about local labor laws and workers’ rights and documented 335 violations of mining workers’ rights
  • HAI has completed in-depth research into mining conditions, gathering oral histories of dozens of individuals working in the mining industry to examine conditions and violations

Providing Mental Health Care and Psychosocial Support Services

Background: Mental Health

Residents of eastern DRC are subject to a number of stressors including conflict and community violence, high rates of gender-based violence, and poverty. Access to mental health care is limited: South Kivu province has only one specialized mental health inpatient treatment facility for a population of 4.6 million. A 2010 study conducted in the North and South Kivu provinces found that 50.1% of study participants had symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), 40.5% had symptoms of major depression, 25.9% reported suicidal ideation, and 16% had attempted suicide.

Programs: Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Services

  • HAI coordinates with DRC’s Ministry of Health (MoH) and National Mental Health Program to ensures access to mental health and psychosocial support services for adults, many of who are survivors of violence or have been impacted by the consequences of the complex emergency, by facilitating the placement of psychologists in district hospitals and establishing viable referral networks for participants. To build sustainable mental health infrastructure, HAI has also trained healthcare providers to more effectively identify mental health problems and implement appropriate referrals.
  • HAI led a first-of-its-kind research initiative, studying the effects of a basic mental health intervention delivered by paraprofessionals on infant cognitive development. The intervention targeted rural communities in South Kivu, identifying expecting mothers in South Kivu during antenatal consultations who were experiencing depression and/or anxiety. Post birth, all mothers received 12 one-on-one sessions that included basic cognitive therapies and behavioral strategies targeted at symptom reduction. Delivered by a network of existing community healthcare workers and integrated into post-natal care at health posts, this intervention is highly replicable in other resource-poor settings.

Impact: Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Services

  • HAI has provided specialized individual and group mental health services to more than 8,000 survivors of sexual assault and other debilitating traumatic experiences
  • Participants who had been victims of sexual assault and other trauma experienced a 68% reduction in symptoms of PTSD depression and/or anxiety