Partnering to restore hope to women and girls in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

When Ngabusi (name changed for privacy and protection ) first arrived at the Integrated Multisectoral Services Centre (CISM) in Ituri province, a safe space where survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) receive free medical care and psychological support, she was exhausted: her eyes were downcast and her body tense with fear and pain. A few days earlier, armed men lying in wait had attacked and raped her as she had ventured into the bush to gather firewood.

Ngabusi is one of thousands of women and girls who have experienced horrific violence in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a region that has been scarred by years of armed conflict and which witnessed a further dramatic security downturn with the resurgence of rebel activity earlier this year.

The Stabilization and Recovery in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (STAR-Est) Project is a World Bank-financed initiative designed to address fragility, conflict, and violence in Eastern DRC. It aims to restore social cohesion, improve access to basic services, and create economic opportunities for the most-at-risk groups. Under this project, the DRC Government, with financing from the World Bank, has engaged in a partnership with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and other service providers to offer critical support to survivors GBV.

Ngabusi has been coming to the CISM for over three months now. After being treated for a sexually transmitted infection and receiving counselling, she is once again able to talk with others, to smile, and even to consider starting a small business to provide for her four children’s needs. Her healing is not over, but her progress is the result of consistent and structured support made possible through the tripartite partnership between the government, the IRC and the World Bank, mobilized through the STAR-Est Project. This partnership reflects a shared commitment to staying engaged, even in the most challenging contexts, combining the World Bank's development financing with IRC's operational presence and expertise and the government's commitment to deliver services where they are needed most. This partnership is being operationalized alongside other institutional alliances providing similar services in the Eastern provinces under STAR-Est, including those with HEAL Africa, Panzi and IMA World Health.

For the IRC and the World Bank, investing in GBV services in Eastern DRC is not just a moral imperative; it is a strategic development priority. The decision to restructure the STAR-Est Project in early 2025 to include a stand-alone GBV Prevention and Response component is a testament to the government’s commitment to address such foundational issues.

Vital services made accessible through our partnership

Building on IRC's integrated, survivor-centered model developed across fragile settings globally, the project, through the four contracted service providers, has expanded access to free, high-quality medical and psychosocial services across Eastern DRC, providing personalized support, access to PEP kits (post-exposure prophylaxis kits, which were subject to alarming scarcity prior to the project launch) and to complaint mechanisms. Support has also been provided for strengthening five CISMs.

Between July and November 2025, the project has supported over 7,000 survivors of rape, sexual assault, physical and psychological violence, and early or forced marriage and strengthened provision of emergency clinical care and psychosocial follow-up across centers. Funding has supported individual survivors, while also building out the ecosystem of response through the training of over 60 medical and psychosocial staff and psychologists, strengthening supervision and service quality in collaboration with provincial authorities, improving clinical spaces and service confidentiality, and developing travel and safety protocols for unstable areas.

A major achievement has been the creation of a strong network that brings together different groups, including health organizations, local civil society organizations, community groups, government gender and health offices, under the decentralized STAR-Est Project, which itself is embedded in the respective provincial administrations. By working closely, these partners have strengthened service coordination, improved survivor referrals, and built greater trust, creating pathways to sustainability in a deeply unstable context.

Why sustained funding works

The STAR-Est experience reinforces a key lesson that IRC, as a global leader in GBV response, has learned over decades of humanitarian work in conflict zones: sustained, predictable funding delivers fundamentally different results than short-term humanitarian grants.

Indeed, recovery from GBV has no fixed timeline. It depends on multiple factors, including the nature and severity of violence, its repetition, social environment, and available support. Some survivors show improvement within months, while others take years to recover. IRC's frontline teams have seen firsthand that short-term interventions can save lives in acute crises, but true recovery requires consistent access to medical care, ongoing psychological support, economic reintegration, and gradual rebuilding of social ties. This cannot be achieved through short-term funding cycles that force organizations to start and stop services, lose trained staff, and leave survivors without the continuity of care they need to heal.

World Bank development financing through STAR-Est plugged a critical funding gap and laid out the groundwork for building an alternative platform to traditional humanitarian grants, enabling IRC to put proven approaches into sustained practice. This includes investing in infrastructure, training and retaining qualified personnel, building trusted relationships with communities and government partners, and establishing referral systems that function reliably. More broadly, the World Bank has been working with the DRC Government to progressively institutionalize GBV prevention and response across the country’s investment portfolio, especially in the infrastructure, education, and health sectors. This approach bodes well for lasting development.

When we invest in protecting women and girls and supporting their recovery, we invest in human capital, economic growth, social cohesion, and lasting peace. In doing so, we create conditions for individuals, families, and communities to build safer, more prosperous futures.