Content_paragraphs:  The number of people in need of protection and humanitarian assistance has
  
  increased from 15.6 million in 2020 to 19.6 million in 2021. In 2021, the
  
  Humanitarian Response Plan for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which has a
  
  budget of $1.98 billion, is intended to meet the needs of 9.6 million of the most
  
  vulnerable, of whom 49.9 per cent are women and girls, 58.5 per cent are children
  
  and 15 per cent are people living with disabilities. This increase in funds is the result
  
  of a new surge in violence, especially in the eastern provinces, and increased food
  
  insecurity, amplified by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some 3.4 million
  
  children under the age of 5 have been recorded as acutely malnourished. The
  
  structural lack of access to basic social services is a major aggravating factor that has
  
  an impact on people’s resilience, while the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the
  
  situation by disrupting crop cycles and access to markets.