Community-Led Climate-Resilient Urban Systems for Flood-Prone Neighborhoods in Kinshasa
MLC Voyager | Humanitarian Action for Africa
Community-Led Climate-Resilient Urban Systems for Flood-Prone Neighborhoods in Kinshasa is a locally led urban resilience innovation implemented in vulnerable flood-prone communities in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. The innovation combines community-led flood prevention, circular waste management, climate-resilient WASH services, and youth-led green jobs to reduce climate risks, improve public health, and strengthen livelihoods for low-income urban populations. It primarily supports vulnerable communities affected by recurrent flooding, poor sanitation, environmental degradation, and limited access to resilient urban services.
35,000 Lives Impacted
Community-Led Climate-Resilient Urban Systems for Flood-Prone Neighborhoods in Kinshasa has significantly improved the resilience, safety, and livelihoods of vulnerable urban communities living in flood-prone neighborhoods of Kinshasa. Through community-led flood prevention, waste management, climate-resilient WASH actions, and awareness-raising activities, the innovation has directly impacted approximately 35,000 people living in low-income and highly vulnerable settlements.
A key strength of the innovation is its preventive and anticipatory approach. Community resilience teams, composed mainly of urban youth and young women, support regular drainage maintenance, environmental sanitation, community sensitization, and early community actions before heavy rainfall periods. This has contributed to reducing flood exposure, stagnant water, and environmental health risks in targeted neighborhoods.
The innovation has also created green livelihood opportunities for vulnerable youth through locally led environmental services, helping strengthen household incomes and community ownership. Women and girls benefit from safer and cleaner public spaces, improved sanitation, and reduced health risks linked to flooding and waste accumulation.
Growing demand from neighboring communities and engagement with local authorities demonstrate the innovation’s strong potential for sustainable replication and long-term urban resilience impact in Kinshasa.
The Innovation
Community-Led Climate-Resilient Urban Systems for Flood-Prone Neighborhoods in Kinshasa is an integrated urban resilience innovation implemented in vulnerable and flood-prone communities in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. The innovation was designed to address recurrent urban flooding, poor drainage systems, unmanaged waste accumulation, inadequate sanitation, and the growing climate vulnerability affecting low-income urban populations.
The innovation combines community-led flood prevention, circular waste management, climate-resilient WASH services, environmental sensitization, and youth-led green jobs into one locally driven urban system. Community resilience teams—primarily composed of urban youth and young women—are trained to conduct drainage maintenance, waste collection, flood-risk awareness, sanitation promotion, and early community actions before heavy rainfall periods. This preventive and participatory approach strengthens local ownership while reducing flood exposure and environmental health risks.
What makes the innovation unique is its low-cost, scalable, and community-led facilitation model that links climate adaptation with livelihoods, public health, and behavioral change rather than relying only on heavy infrastructure investments. Currently implemented in Kinshasa, the innovation is designed for progressive expansion into additional flood-prone neighborhoods and future replication in other urban contexts facing similar climate and sanitation challenges.
About Humanitarian Action for Africa
Humanitarian Action for Africa (HAA) is a Congolese local non-governmental organization working to strengthen resilience, improve livelihoods, and support vulnerable communities affected by humanitarian crises, poverty, and climate-related shocks. HAA designs and implements locally led, inclusive, and scalable solutions across urban resilience, climate adaptation, WASH, protection, youth empowerment, and community development sectors. Through community-centered approaches and strategic partnerships, HAA promotes sustainable, dignified, and resilient development for underserved populations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
