GENEVA - The number of internally displaced people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has more than doubled to 6.3 million since the end of 2022, according to the United Nations (UN).

Six million of those are in Mai-Ndombe, Kasai, Tshopo, Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu - six provinces faced with a devastating combination of conflict, measles and cholera.

According to UN figures, more than 17 000 cholera infections and 148 deaths have been documented in North Kivu since December last year.

While there are cholera cases in South Kivu too, measles has had a greater impact in that province. More than 136 000 measles cases were recorded, with more than 2 000 deaths. South Kivu accounts for 82% of the DRC's known measles cases.

For North Kivu, the UN said, the fact that 32 health facilities were looted or damaged in October last year didn't help the situation because it limited access to services.

Flooding and inter-communal violence have led to the displacement of about 100 000 people in the provinces of Mai-Ndombe, Kasai, and Tshopo.

According to the UN, the three provinces have had around 18 000 measles cases and 444 deaths.

The World Health Organisation's DRC representative, Dr Boureima Hama Sambo, said they were determined to "step up" their efforts because ordinary people in the country lacked basic healthcare.

The DRC is a regular feature on the Norwegian Refugee Council's (NRC) list of the world's most neglected displacement crises as a textbook example.

Funding is a big factor in the DRC situation.

The UN said at least R3.2 billion ($174 million) was required to address immediate humanitarian challenges, but only 13% of that has been mobilised so far.