From Infrastructure to Social Cohesion: FCP III Transitional Phase Completed in Ituri and South Kivu, DRC

In the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the transitional phase of the Peace and Consolidation Fund (FCP III) has come to a close after implementation in the provinces of Ituri and South Kivu from February 2023 to October 2024,  with activities related to the supply and installation of medical equipment continuing until January 2026. Building on earlier programme phases implemented between 2009 and January 2023, the phase was delivered in a highly challenging context shaped by Ebola and COVID-19 outbreaks, natural disasters, and persistent armed conflict. Against this backdrop, its completion stands out not only for the quality of what was delivered, but for the wider impact it created across communities.

Implemented under the leadership of the National Ministry of Planning, managed by GOPA Tech, and funded by BMZ through KfW, the programme combined infrastructure delivery with social support in a way that responded to both urgent local needs and longer-term community stability. 

At the core of the transitional phase were two complementary pillars.

The first was an infrastructure component, through which eight equipped facilities were delivered in Ituri and South Kivu within the expected timeframe and to a strong standard of quality. These included three primary schools, two hospital centres, two modernised rural markets, and the renovation of a sports complex. In South Kivu, this included the renovation of the Lwiro sports complex, the construction of new school buildings in Mudusa, the modernisation of the general hospital in Kavumu, and the upgrading of markets in Birava and Luvungi. In Ituri, the programme supported the construction of Kombokabo and Tinda primary schools, as well as a hospital in Kasenyi. The schools were equipped with desks and IT equipment, while additional water access measures helped address long-standing local needs. 

The second pillar was a social support component. Communities surrounding the infrastructure were involved from the project identification stage onward and continued to be engaged throughout implementation. Through Do No Harm activities, mediation support, and other social cohesion initiatives, the programme aimed to ensure that investments would not deepen existing tensions, but instead help communities reconnect and work together.

This combination of infrastructure and social support shaped some of the programme’s most significant results.

Across intervention areas, beneficiary communities reported a high level of satisfaction with the quality of the infrastructure handed over to them. But the impact extended beyond physical assets. In Ituri, an area long affected by ethnic conflict, beneficiaries reported that communities which had not spoken to one another for more than a decade were able to reconnect through the programme’s social support activities. In some locations, the improved school facilities encouraged the return of previously displaced families so their children could access education under better conditions.

The programme also generated practical benefits for livelihoods and skills development. In Ituri, 45 young people, including 26 women, from the three FCP III intervention sites benefited from certified vocational trainings. In South Kivu, 78 young people from Birava, including 62 women, received certified vocational training. Micro-projects and training support also extended to areas such as livestock farming, economic recovery, and local income generation, helping participants strengthen skills and improve prospects for self-support. Employment creation formed another important part of the programme’s contribution. Across the construction works, over 1,300 people were employed, including 19% women. These results show that the transitional phase did not only build infrastructure; it also created economic opportunities at the community level.

Several of the facilities also took on a meaning that went beyond their immediate function. In Lwiro, the renovated sports complex was seen as a meeting place for young people from different communities and backgrounds. In Kavumu, local health providers described the modernised hospital building as a “building of peace”, linked not only to improved patient care but also to dignity and confidence in public service delivery. In Kasenyi, the new hospital was viewed by local communities as a way to strengthen peaceful coexistence in a region where different groups need shared institutions and shared spaces. Improved access to safe drinking water through newly drilled boreholes similarly addressed an urgent daily challenge for communities that had long relied on unsafe river water. 

The programme’s governance has set a strong example for future cooperation. The governance system established under FCP III helped improve implementation performance and quality to a level that the Ministry of Planning now intends to draw from this, for other cooperation projects with partners.

Taken together, the FCP III transitional phase shows how infrastructure, if delivered with quality, participation, and social support, can do more than meet service needs. It can help restore confidence, improve livelihoods, and create space for more peaceful coexistence in fragile contexts.