Due to relentless fighting between the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s armed forces and armed groups, whole communities are facing serious food shortages because they no longer have access to their fields and crops. In December, the ICRC distributed urgently needed food to more than 8,500 people in the affected area. Some 3,500 of the people who received this emergency aid had fled to villages in the hills that were also seriously affected by the conflict. Agriculture is the main source of income for many households and being cut off from their fields has led to a shortage of food and a sharp rise in food prices. To compensate for the loss of income, some people work in the region’s open-pit mines or transport goods over long distances for local traders.