Monitoring welfare markers in Eastern DRC | Special topics1
Summary
Most forcibly displaced households and host populations declare feeling safe, and comfortable having
displaced neighbors. Moreover, respondents agree that women can be good leaders. Also, the majority of
households tell stories and sing songs to their children. Simultaneously, both groups reported much less
frequently to read books, naming, counting, or drawing, and taking children out of the house. Around 2 out
of 10 households can be classified as suffering moderately severe or severe depression, with no differences
between both groups, yet with moderate to mild depression being more prevalent among forcibly displaced
population members.
Perceptions (from Round 7 & Round 1-displaced; between October and November 2021)
Most forcibly displaced households and vulnerable nationals feel safe, are comfortable having displaced neighbors and agree that women can be good
leaders.
Agree with neighbors'
Agree: woman can be a opinion: woman can be a
good leader good leader
Vulnerable – 90% Vulnerable – 75%
Displaced – 93% Displaced – 85%
Feel safe in their community
90%
78%
80% 72% 73% 74%
70%
70%
% of households
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Overall Overall Displaced Refugees Returnees
vulnerable displaced
1
This infographic was prepared by Alexandra Jarotschkin, Kenedy Kihangi Bindu, and Gonzalo Nunez-Chaim.
Child development (from Round 9 & Round 2-displaced; between December 2021 and January 2022)
More than two thirds of vulnerable nationals and forcibly displaced households tell stories and sing songs to their children, with both groups of
households less often reading books, naming, counting, or drawing, and taking them out of the house.
Took the child out of the house
Vulnerable Displaced
46%
48%
Name, count or draw things
for/ with the child
Vulnerable Displaced
45% 50%
Mental health (from Round 9 & Round 2-displaced; between December 2021 and January 2022)
Almost 2 out of 10 respondents reported feelings related to moderately severa and severe depression, with no variation between vulnerable nationals
and forcibly displaced populations. Yet, self-reported feelings of mild to moderate depression were slightly more often reported among forcibly
displaced (7 out of 10 respondents), compared to non-displaced populations (6 out of 10 respondents).
100
90 16 19 15 17 16
21 21 23
Moderately 80
severe / severe
depression Vulnerable Displaced 70
% of households
60
59
19% 18% 50 60 68 62 68 70
65
40 72
30
20
26
10 19 20
15 15 14 15
0 5
Beni Bunia Goma Lubero Komanda Displaced RefugeesReturnees
Vulnerable by location Displaced by group
Minimal depression Mild / moderate depression Moderately severe / severe depression
Box: Survey Methodology
DRC CO
The DRC CO High-Frequency Phone Survey (HFPS) calls individuals from the social registry in Eastern DRC that was
built up by the Social Protection and Jobs (SPJ) program and managed by Fonds Social de la RDC (FSRDC) across
different sites in Eastern DRC. The social registry is comprised of individuals showing up to the public lotteries of the
program. With those selected through the public lottery becoming beneficiaries of the SPJ-FSRDC project. The program
remunerates beneficiaries U$3 per day for their participation in community works, which is announced prior to the public
lottery. As a result, the selection mechanism ensured that only individuals from poor and vulnerable populations
participated in the lotteries – who were willing and able to carry out work for respective daily wage. The SPJ-FSRDC
program collected phone numbers during public lotteries. Hence, the current panel survey by the DRC Crisis Observatory
was able to select from a pool of vulnerable and poor populations residing in Eastern DRC who showed up to the public
lottery AND provided a phone number to MARTA (Monitoring Automated for Real Time Analysis). MARTA recorded
a total of 68,558 respondents across Beni (including Kalunguta), Bunia, Goma, Lubero, and Komanda, 51,007 of which
provided a phone number, out of which the Crisis Observatory successfully contacted 1,453 respondents (716 women and
737 men) in R1.
In R7, 1,448 were successfully interviewed. In this sample, without stratification, 311 were forcibly displaced. An
additional survey was collected, mimicking the same survey instrument, but with focus on forcibly displaced, including
sampling strategy, R1-displaced. The social registry counts 376 refugees, 6,501 internally displaced and 1,145 returnees.
As part of R1-displaced, 126 refugees, 898 internally displaced, and 403 returnees were successfully interviewed in R7.
In R8, 1,445 were successfully interviewed, and separately with 163 refugees, 879 internally displaced, and 399 returnees
as part of R2-displaced. Similarly, in R9, 1,441 were successfully interviewed, with 139 refugees, 911 internally displaced,
389 returnees as part of R3-displaced separately.
Interviewers followed a protocol of calling a potential respondent at least six times in three days, with at least one hour
between two calls to ensure that those less likely to pick up their phones on a first try would not be systematically left out,
yielding potentially biased results. The presented survey results are strictly based on the sample of respondents who
answered the survey. The HFPS is therefore illustrative of forcibly displaced population in urban and peri-urban areas in
Eastern DRC, most notably those of Goma, Beni, Bunia, and Lubero.
The HFPS entailed household-level and individual-level questions comprising modules on socio-demographic, health,
education, employment, revenue, (social) assistance, shock coping strategies, attitudes, insecurity as well as knowledge
and behavioral questions regarding and in response to COVID-19. In the coming rounds, the DRC Crisis Observatory
will be calling the same beneficiaries and eligible individuals to the extent possible to follow the evolution of their welfare
across crisis, resilience, and recovery.
Data collection parameters
• Data collection period:
o Round 1-displaced Oct 29–Nov 16 2021; Round 2-displaced Nov 29–Dec 12 2021; Round 3-displaced
January 5–15 2022.
o Round 7 Oct 29-Nov 16 2021; Round 8 Nov 29 – Dec 12 2021; Round 9 Jan 5-15 2022.
• Average duration of interviews: 30-35 mins.