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WEEKLY BULLETIN ON OUTBREAKS
AND OTHER EMERGENCIES
Week 05: 27 January to 02 February 2025
Data as reported by: 17:00; 02 February 2025
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Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo
Complex Humanitarian Crisis
EVENT DESCRIPTION
On 27 January 2025, the Mouvement du 23 Mars
(M23) armed group took control of Goma, North Kivu,
following intense clashes with the Congolese army.
Reports indicate widespread looting of shops, offices,
and humanitarian warehouses, as well as violations
of International Humanitarian Law, including sexual
assaults by armed groups. Explosions and gunfire
persisted in several parts of the city, and multiple lifeless
bodies seen littering the streets. The capture of Goma
also triggered violent protests in Kinshasa, leading to
attacks on embassies and international institutions.
The crisis in Goma has severely disrupted essential
services. Since 26 January 2025, water and electricity
have been cut off, while internet access was lost on 27
January 2025, leaving only mobile networks operational.
The closure of Goma Airport since 26 January 2025 has
halted air evacuations and humanitarian flights, further
paralyzing humanitarian assistance. Medical services
are overwhelmed, with hospitals struggling to treat the
injured amid critical shortages of medicine and medical
supplies. Between 6 and 25 January 2025, at least 43 500
people arrived at displacement sites in Goma, however,
many Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) sites, including
those at Kanyaruchinya, Bushagara, and Rusayo 1 and
2, have emptied due to renewed violence. On 26 January
2025, shelling killed 12 people and injured around 10
others in Rusayo 1 and 2, destroying water, sanitation,
and shelter facilities.
The human impact of the crisis is devastating. Between
26 and 31 January 2025, 2 958 injured individuals were
recorded in healthcare facilities, while many remain
stranded in their homes, awaiting medical assistance.
Morgues have exceeded capacity, with hundreds of
bodies awaiting burial, raising serious public health
concerns. With response activities halted due to
insecurity, there is an increased risk of disease spread.
Of the 143 confirmed mpox cases admitted across
three health zones in Goma, 128 patients have escaped
from the treatment centers, many of which were looted
and rendered inoperable. The risk of cholera has also
increased, with North Kivu being the second most
affected province after Haut-Lomami, recording 499
cases with 47 deaths between 1 and 19 January 2025.
This escalation has further worsened the already severe
humanitarian crisis in eastern DRC. Before the recent
upsurge in fighting, Goma and its surroundings in North
Kivu hosted 700 000 displaced people, many living in
overcrowded and under-resourced sites. Since October
2024, over 480 000 additional people have been
displaced in North Kivu, alongside 178 000 in South
Kivu, further straining humanitarian resources. Hospitals
are operating beyond capacity, and critical health
supplies are running dangerously low. Reports of forced
recruitment and forced labour in South Kivu underscore
the growing vulnerability of civilians.
The ongoing conflict has severely restricted
humanitarian access. Many aid operations remain
suspended due to insecurity. Roads leading to Minova,
Bunyakiri, and Idjwi in South Kivu remain blocked, and
Goma’s key supply routes are inaccessible
PUBLIC HEALTH ACTIONS
On 26 January 2025, the Emergency Relief Coordinator
allocated US$17 million through the Central Emergency
Response Fund (CERF) to support affected populations.
An assessment of response capacities is ongoing in
coordination with humanitarian partners.
The Health Cluster response strategy prioritizes
integrated health assistance for displaced people,
including emergency mobile clinics and flexible response
measures adapted to the volatile situation.
International organizations are preparing to scale up
aid efforts despite severe resource shortages. On 28
January 2025, they raised concerns over the ongoing
fighting in Goma, which has forced the suspension of
most humanitarian operations. They are calling for the
establishment of humanitarian corridors to facilitate safe
aid deliveries and civilian movement.
SITUATION INTERPRETATION
The upsurge in violence due to the armed conflict in
Goma and other parts of Eastern DRC has further
exacerbated an already dire humanitarian crisis.
Clashes and mass displacements have severely
strained essential resources, disrupting access to food,
water, healthcare, and shelter, while insecurity continues
to impede humanitarian operations. If humanitarian
access is not urgently restored and the fighting further
escalates, the crisis risks spiraling into a large-scale
disaster, driving uncontrolled displacement, worsening
health conditions, and heightened regional instability.
Immediate international intervention and increased
funding are essential to avert a total humanitarian
collapse.
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Press briefing notes Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights DRC: Deepening human rights crisis amid reports of further M23 advances
31 January 2025
From
Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Jeremy Laurence
Location
Geneva Related
The human rights crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo continues to deepen, as hostilities between the armed forces and the Rwandan-backed M23 armed group expand towards South Kivu following the M23’s takeover of Goma. Reports indicate that M23 has progressed further south towards Bukavu.
Since the start of the crisis, bombs have struck at least two IDP (internally displaced person) sites, causing civilian casualties. We have also documented summary executions of at least 12 people by M23 between 26 and 28 January.
Our Office has also documented cases of conflict-related sexual violence by the army and allied Wazalendo fighters in Kalehe territory. We are verifying reports that 52 women were raped by Congolese troops in South Kivu, including alleged reports of gangrape.
In other areas under M23 control in South Kivu, such as Minova, M23 has occupied schools and hospitals, forced IDPs out of camps and subjected the civilian population to forced conscription and forced labour.
Additionally, DRC officials report that at least 165 women were raped by male inmates during the prison break by more than 4,000 inmates from Goma’s Muzenze prison on 27 January, as M23 began its assault on the town.
Conflict-related sexual violence has been an appalling feature of armed conflict in eastern DRC for decades. High Commissioner Volker Türk is particularly concerned that this latest escalation risks deepening the risk of conflict-related sexual violence much further. The current widespread proliferation of weapons in Goma is exacerbating the already significant risks of serious violations and abuses.
We continue to receive urgent requests from civilians for protection and are working with UN colleagues and other partners to ensure their safety.
As M23 reportedly advances towards Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu, the High Commissioner calls for an end to the violence and for all parties to uphold their obligations under international human rights law and international humanitarian law. It is crucial that there are investigations into the commission of violations, with a view to bringing the perpetrators to justice and ensuring comprehensive accountability.
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OCHA DRC
@UNOCHA_DRC
THREAD🧵
Violence and looting of humanitarian warehouses in #Goma have impacted both the ability of aid workers to respond and have obviously put them at risk.
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Since the escalation of fighting in early January, our humanitarian partners have recorded more than 2,000 injuries caused by weapons and explosive shrapnel.
Humanitarian workers are treating injuries where possible.
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Water and electricity supplies remain cut off in #Goma since 26 January. We call for the swift resumption of these services, as well as for the protection of humanitarian warehouses and the facilitation of medical evacuations for people who have been injured.
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The airport in #Goma unfortunately remains closed, which means that flows of humanitarian cargo and rotations of humanitarian personnel have been suspended.
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We once again call on all parties to respect international humanitarian law and to end the violence targeting civilians that we have seen.
3:55 AM · Jan 30, 2025
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WFP DRC
@WFPDRC
🚨Food is running out. Water is scarce. Hospitals are overwhelmed. The next 24 hours are critical.
@WFP is ready to resume food assistance as soon as it’s safe. But we need humanitarian access now.
5:05 AM · Jan 30, 2025Leave a comment:
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Translation Google
DRC: Humanitarian access is severely limited on several axes of Kivu, warns the UN
© WFP/Moses Sawasawa
A woman walks the streets with children in Goma, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
January 29, 2025 Peace and security
While a "precarious lull" is slightly observed after two days of intense fighting in the city of Goma, many aid agencies have expressed alarm at the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo where humanitarian access is "severely limited on several axes" of South Kivu and North Kivu.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs ( OCHA ), Goma airport has remained closed since 26 January, and most access routes to the city of Goma, including the RN2, have been cut off. The border at the Grande Barrière with the city of Gisenyi has been inaccessible since the morning of 28 January.
The United Nations continues to call for the establishment of humanitarian corridors, the reopening of Goma airport and border crossing points, to allow voluntary population movements seeking refuge in places free from conflict. “Due to the fighting, humanitarian activities are severely limited. Only health and water, hygiene and sanitation interventions continue,” notes OCHA.
© WFP/Moses Sawasawa
In Goma, in eastern DRC, residents are fleeing the advance of armed groups.
Negotiations for the establishment of a humanitarian corridor in South Kivu
In South Kivu, the access routes to Minova have been blocked since January 18, 2025. Insecurity on the various front lines thus impacts the Minova-Bunyakiri, Kalehe-Idjwi, and Minova-Kalehe-Bukavu axes.
"About twenty humanitarian partners, based in Minova, are ready to resume their operations as soon as the situation allows. Negotiations are underway for the establishment of a humanitarian corridor that would ensure the delivery of emergency assistance," notes OCHA in its latest situation report.
M23 rebels tighten grip on Goma. The capture of the largest city in eastern DRC is a new chapter in a serious escalation that has lasted for years and left hundreds dead and millions displaced.
In Kinshasa, the capital of the DRC, protesters denouncing the inaction of the international community attacked several embassies, including those of Belgium, France, Kenya, South Africa, the United States and Uganda.
On the ground, more than half of the populations of the displaced persons sites of Kanyaruchinya, Bushagara, Rusayo 1 and Rusayo 2 have left these areas. Some displaced persons have headed to Goma or other neighbouring localities, others have found refuge with host communities, in schools and other collective infrastructures.
Medical evacuation becomes a challenge
In South Kivu, humanitarian actors estimated that nearly 20,000 households, or more than 117,000 people, were newly welcomed in the Kalehe health zone in Kalehe territory between January 20 and 27.
Regarding the fate of the wounded, health structures are saturated and are organizing to care for the seriously injured, despite the power and water cuts in Goma. "Medical evacuation is becoming a challenge, in a context of persistent violence, with ambulances being targeted."
As of 28 January, the International Committee of the Red Cross ( ICRC ) recorded more than 256 wounded at Ndosho hospital. The ICRC reports that it has treated more than 600 wounded since the beginning of January, nearly half of whom are civilians. Many of them are women and children.
At the same time, the NGO Médecins Sans Frontières announced that it had received around sixty wounded people at the Kyeshero hospital in the city of Goma.
WHO has provided more than 25 tonnes of medicines and equipment
In South Kivu, "the number of wounded exceeds the capacity of hospitals and health centers in Kalehe and Minova. The most serious cases have been referred to the Bukavu General Reference Hospital. Nearly 400 people with gunshot wounds have been treated by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) over the last three weeks in Minova, Numbi and Masisi.
According to humanitarian agencies, this situation is the result of the use of artillery in densely populated areas – particularly in large urban centres such as the city of Goma or displaced persons camps – as well as the intensity of devastating fighting for the trapped populations.
"With the influx of wounded from the fighting in recent days, of course the hospitals that were already at maximum capacity are now overwhelmed, it's a truth," said in an interview with UN Info, Boureima Hama Sambo, Representative of the World Health Organization ( WHO ) in the DRC, noting that his agency provided last weekend, more than 25 tons of medicines and equipment as well as more than 25 tents to support the health districts.
WHO reassures on the specter of Ebola spread from a laboratory in Goma
While the International Committee of the Red Cross said on Tuesday that it was "very concerned" about the risk of the Ebola virus leaking from the Goma laboratory, the UN World Health Agency is providing reassurance about the situation at the National Institute for Biomedical Research in Goma.
If this lab keeps samples, the WHO emphasizes that these highly pathogenic germs with epidemic potential are very well preserved. For the WHO, there is no concern since the Goma laboratory is kept in conditions that meet the criteria of vigilance and international rigor.
"We were in Goma only last week. We visited the laboratory whose samples are preserved according to international standards. On this, there is no concern since the Goma laboratory is really kept in conditions that meet the criteria of vigilance and international rigor," added Dr. Sambo.
© WHO/Guerchom Ndebo
Patients are treated for MPOX in eastern DRC in August 2024.
Tracing of MPOX cases
More broadly, the WHO is concerned about the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the Kivus, which was already "an acute health emergency". For Dr. Sambo, the increase in clashes has worsened a situation that was already very precarious in a region where diseases such as Mpox, cholera and measles are rife.
Especially since with the current situation, the WHO fears that Mpox patients who were in isolation in the displacement sites could now mix with the general population. "So this will facilitate, accentuate the spread of the disease," observed Dr. Sambo, specifying that more than 20,000 suspected cases of monkeypox have been reported in North and South Kivu since 2024, including more than 6,000 in the last six weeks.
North and South Kivu also recorded more than 21,600 cases and 59 deaths from cholera, and more than 11,700 cases and 115 deaths from measles last year.
UNICEF needs $22 million
Faced with the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in eastern DRC, the United Nations Children's Fund ( UNICEF ) has launched an appeal for $22 million to provide emergency assistance to 282,000 children.
The money will help with protection, health, nutrition, water and sanitation, and education.
“Civilians, exhausted by the traumatic events, are suffering from hunger, thirst and are exhausted. Families deprived of access to water, electricity and the Internet, are taking refuge wherever they can to escape the violence,” said Jean Francois Basse, UNICEF Acting Representative in the DRC.
The main risks for children are currently related to health and protection. The precarious living conditions in the camps, characterized by promiscuity and unsanitary conditions, expose children to a high risk of diseases such as cholera, measles and COPD. Fear of clashes and the saturation of health structures means that many parents are reluctant to take their children to hospital.
UNICEF has received reports of an alarming increase in the number of children separated from their families or unaccompanied, putting them at increased risk of abduction, forced recruitment and sexual violence.
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Translation Google
SOS for Goma hospitals running out of supplies
Published on Wed, 01/29/2025 - 2:47 PM | Modified on Wed, 01/29/2025 - 2:48 PM
Hospitals and other health facilities in the city of Goma in North Kivu are overwhelmed by the wounded and dead, victims of the fighting between the M23, supported by Rwanda, and the FARDC. At the CBCA/Virunga general reference hospital , Dr. Michael Bolingo, contacted this Wednesday, January 29 morning by Radio Okapi, claims to have recorded between Tuesday and this Wednesday more than 140 wounded and about thirty deaths.
" After four days in the hospital, we were just relieved this morning at the hospital by our fellow doctors because there was already a little lull. The toll from yesterday to today, I left the hospital leaving 146 injured and we recorded 31 dead. So, during the night, because we had an electricity problem, it was resolved with a generator. We tried to save some lives ," testified Dr. Michael Bolingo.
He asks the authorities and humanitarians to take advantage of this lull to supply hospitals, most of which are running out of supplies:
"In all this time, whether from the side of the patients or the healthcare staff, we have not yet received any help from the Government or from partners. So when leaving the hospital, we can see that there are a lot of bodies, for example on the Virunga road towards the Singers roundabout, I counted at least three bodies. In our hospital, the morgue has a capacity of eight rooms. Today, I left, leaving 31 dead. We should transfer some patients to our hospitals, particularly the Heal Africa hospital, but the problem is that there is no way to get the ambulance to circulate."
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DRC: Over 1.5 Million Children Need Protection as Goma Faces Heavy Fighting, Save the Children
Media Contact:
Diana Oberoi +1 (202) 286-1421(O)
GOMA (January 27, 2025) – Children caught in heavy fighting in the town of Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) must be protected, with Save the Children concerned for their safety amid the worst escalation of violence in the country in more than a decade.
About 3 million people live in Goma, including 1 million displaced people. Save the Children estimates over half of those – or over 1.5 million - are children[1].
Large parts of Goma have been without water and electricity since Friday, and parents have no food or clean water for their children. People are trying to flee but have nowhere to go.
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Save the Children's office in Goma was hit by an explosion today, and the house of a Save the Children employee was struck with bullets. While no staff were injured in these attacks, staff, along with other members of the community, remain at risk as intense fighting continues.
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Translation Google
Goma: Hospitals overwhelmed by wounded, some medicines out of stock
Published on Tue, 01/28/2025 - 1:31 PM | Modified on Tue, 01/28/2025 - 1:31 PM
The health and humanitarian situation has been catastrophic in the city of Goma in North Kivu for several days.
Hospitals and other health facilities are overwhelmed by wounded following clashes in and around Goma between the Rwandan-backed M23 and the FARDC.
At the CBKA Virunga general reference hospital, for example, Doctor Grâce Amzati, contacted Tuesday, January 28 by Radio Okapi, said he had recorded to date more than 400 injured and around twenty dead, including soldiers and civilians, including children.
"Since this morning, we have just received 109 injured people, and we have just counted five deaths. We are overwhelmed by the injured, the hospital capacity is so insufficient. We are overwhelmed. We are four doctors, but we are supported by our trainee doctors and nurses. We are lacking certain emergency supplies, such as injectable paracetamol, adrenaline for resuscitation and so many other hospital supplies," says Dr. Michael Bolingo.
He is appealing for help from the authorities and humanitarians in view of the seriousness of the situation.
"We continue to count the victims. At the moment it is difficult to give you an exact figure, these are provisional figures. We do not even have electricity, our generator has broken down, our morgue also has a small capacity. So it will be difficult for us to keep all these dead ," he added.
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UNHCR gravely concerned by worsening violence and humanitarian crisis in eastern DR Congo
Format News and Press Release SourcePosted 24 Jan 2025 Originally published 24 Jan 2025 Origin View original A displacement site near the provincial capital of Goma. Many families have fled to the city to escape escalating violence in DRC's North Kivu province. © UNHCR/Blaise Sanyila
UNHCR is gravely concerned about the safety and security of civilians and internally displaced people (IDPs) in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), as conflict further intensifies across South and North Kivu Provinces. The number of people displaced has now surged to more than 400,000 this year alone, almost double the number reported just last week.
Since our last update on 17 January, bombs have fallen on IDP sites. On 20 January, explosions at Kitalaga site in South Kivu killed two children, while on 21 January, five makeshift shelters were destroyed in Nzuolo and yesterday, Bushagara site was heavily impacted, causing panic and new waves of forced displacement.
Violence has also escalated in South Kivu’s Minova and Kalehe territories, displacing an additional 178,000 people as intense clashes led to non-state armed groups taking control of the town of Minova and the locality of Kalungu. At least 80 per cent of the population fled towards the city of Goma. UNHCR colleagues are monitoring cross-border movements and stand ready to respond to any potential outflow of asylum-seekers.
Meanwhile, fighting intensified in the North Kivu town of Saké, approximately 25 kilometres from Goma, culminating in non-state armed groups seizing control. Heavy bombardments caused families from at least nine displacement sites on the periphery of Goma to flee into the city to seek safety and shelter. Many spent last night sleeping on the streets and in green spaces across the city.
Persistent clashes between belligerents in these areas continue to deteriorate the protection environment for civilians in South and North Kivu Provinces which are already home to 4.6 million internally displaced people. Human rights violations, including looting, injuries, murders, kidnappings and arbitrary arrests of displaced people mistaken for rebels have escalated. Hospitals are nearing capacity with injured civilians. Vulnerable women, children, and the elderly are living in overcrowded and precarious conditions with limited access to food, water, and essential services.
Humanitarian access to address these urgent needs is significantly restricted. All roads to Minova, including for humanitarian aid, are closed. Indiscriminate shelling has forced the temporary suspension of life-saving activities in several areas in North Kivu.
UNHCR echoes the Secretary General’s call to uphold human rights and international humanitarian law, and to ensure immediate and unrestricted access to populations in need of humanitarian assistance. UNHCR also urges all parties to prioritize the protection of civilians, respect the civilian nature of IDP sites and refrain from using explosives and heavy weapons in overcrowded civilian environments.
It is vital, and long overdue, for peace to take root in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for the benefit of its people and the region.
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Translation Google
DRC: 7 humanitarians killed in 268 security incidents in 2024
Thursday, September 26, 2024 - 12:59
At least 268 security incidents targeting humanitarian workers have been recorded by OCHA since the beginning of 2024, said Bruno Lemarquis, humanitarian coordinator, during a press conference on September 24.
Lemarquis stressed that the DRC is one of the most dangerous countries for humanitarians, victims of rights violations and deadly violence.
“In 2024, 268 security incidents targeted humanitarian actors, an increase of 39% compared to 2023, and 7 of our humanitarian colleagues lost their lives since the beginning of the year,” he said.
Regarding the humanitarian situation in eastern DRC, Lemarquis added that more than 61,000 survivors of gender-based violence were treated in the first half of 2024.
The clashes between the FARDC and the M23 in North Kivu, as well as the violence in other provinces such as South Kivu and Tanganyika, have led to massive displacement of the population. More than 6.4 million displaced people have been recorded in several regions of the DRC, making this crisis the largest in terms of internally displaced populations in the world.
"Around Goma, the situation remains very critical, with up to 750,000 displaced people living in precarious conditions, marked by epidemics and sexual violence," added the humanitarian coordinator.
In 2024, the international community has earmarked USD 2.6 billion in funding to respond to the crisis, but only 37% of this amount has been reached.
The coordinator also recalled the tragic death of a humanitarian at a Wazalendo barrier in Kalehe, and stressed that 211 schools are occupied by displaced people, thus depriving thousands of children of their education.
Justin Mwamba
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Conflict and Mpox: A deadly combination threatening the Democratic Republic of Congo
Date: 18.09.24
CARE International
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is currently facing a severe Mpox outbreak, a situation disproportionately affecting women and girls displaced by conflict. With over 15,000 cases and 700 deaths reported, the DRC has become the epicenter of the global outbreak. Among the over 6 million people displaced by conflict across the country, women—who make up 51% of this population—are particularly vulnerable. In addition to enduring the hardships of displacement, these women often shoulder the primary responsibility for caring for sick family members, which heightens their risk of contracting the disease.
"Women fleeing violence now face infection which is fast spreading in overcrowded camps where soap, clean water, and proper healthcare are scarce,” said Sidibe Kadidia, CARE DRC Country Director. “Underage girls who have been forced to engage in sex work to provide for their families are at high risk of being infected and transmitting the disease. Women and girls taking care of infected family members, especially babies, are highly exposed. On top of it all, stigma and lack of accurate information about Mpox are all too common, often meaning people only seek treatment when the symptoms are already severe and highly infectious."
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Translation Google
Kwilu: more than 62,000 new displaced people in distress in the health zones of Bagata and Kikongo
Wednesday, August 21, 2024 - 3:02 p.m.
The humanitarian situation is getting worse in the health zones of Bagata and Kikongo in the province of Kwilu. More than 62,000 internally displaced persons fled the Fakwilu and Kisia groups between May and July, following incursions by Mobondo militiamen in this part of the Wamba-Fatundu sector.
We are mainly talking about women, children and the elderly who do not have access to health care and do not benefit from any food support.
According to the recent report of the multi-sectoral rapid assessment mission carried out by local humanitarian organizations and Ocha, 34,018 displaced persons are reported in the Bagata health zone. This is precisely in the villages of Beno, Manzasay, Sampiere, Siem-siem and the chief town of Bagata. There are 4,740 men, 14,776 women, 9,569 girls and 5,934 boys.
In this area, more than 5,200 people will be on the streets at the start of the school year, occupying five classrooms in Manzasay.
The report states that the Kikongo health zone received a total of 27,151 displaced persons, including 3,434 men, 10,954 women, 7,457 girls and 5,306 boys. They live mainly in the villages of Fambondo, Fampanda, Fasila, Fatobo Fatundu and Missay.
All these people have not had access to drinking water, health care or food support since last May. The focal point of the NGO Cause rural who was part of the team, reveals that the situation requires urgent humanitarian aid.
"They don't have access to health care, they don't have access to food. They eat only once a day. And the average is $0.18. There is food insecurity in the health zones of Kikongo and Bagata. These displaced people are suffering so much. There are cases of severe and acute malnutrition. The hospitals in the health zones are closed due to lack of equipment and health professionals. Young girls are now living survival sex. There are elderly people and children who are in difficulty," said Brunel Ndombe, focal point of the NGO Cause rural.
The security situation deteriorated again in the Wamba sector in May and July. Mobondo militiamen, active in the border area between the territories of Bagata and Kenge, harass travelers and take some hostage, also attacking residents.
Jonathan Mesa in Bandundu
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Translation Google
DRC: Six humanitarians killed and 11 others kidnapped in 6 months, deplores Bruno Lemarquis
Published on Mon, 08/19/2024 - 20:35 | Modified on Mon, 08/19/2024 - 20:35
Six humanitarian workers were killed and eleven others kidnapped between January and June, the humanitarian coordinator in the DRC, Bruno Lemarquis, said on Monday, August 19.
He provided these figures on the sidelines of World Humanitarian Day.
According to Bruno Lemarquis, more than 200 incidents directly targeted humanitarian workers on the ground during this same period.
He also condemned the escalation of attacks against civilian populations and humanitarian actors in the DRC.
"Between January and July 2024, more than 630 civilians were tragically killed in the territories of Mambasa and Irumu (Ituri), and in the territories of Beni and Lubero (North Kivu), recalled the humanitarian coordinator in the DRC.
Armed attacks have caused tens of thousands of new displacements and the temporary suspension of humanitarian assistance in certain areas of North Kivu.
Bruno Lemarquis also sounded the alarm so that the voices of those who are suffering are listened to and heard and that concrete measures are taken to put an end to this cycle of unbearable violence that has lasted for decades and to protect the most vulnerable.
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Beni: Mbilinga health center closes its doors following violence by armed groups
Published on Wed, 08/21/2024 - 2:40 PM | Modified on Wed, 08/21/2024 - 2:40 PM
The Mbilinga health centre in the Beni territory of North Kivu, vital for thousands of people, has been forced to close its doors following violence by armed groups.
The destitute population of this locality is forced to travel several kilometers to access the most basic care.
Local civil society, through its president Maombi Kahongya, calls on the authorities to restore security in the area.
“The Mbilinga entity is in a critical situation. Health workers have moved to areas deemed safer. The population is now going through an ordeal because, to get treatment, they have to travel long distances. For example, from Mbilinga to Vurondo, they have to travel at least 7 kilometers. From Mbilinga to Kahamba, it is at least 8 kilometers, and from Mbilinga to Butuhe, at least 15 kilometers. It is in these localities that we can find other health facilities ,” explains Maombi Kahongya.
This situation, he adds, plunges the population into great difficulty in accessing care.
"This is why we call on the authorities to fulfill their mission, that of ensuring the security of the population and its property, because this area has already recorded several deaths due to the exactions of armed groups ," pleads Mr. Maombi.
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July 13, 2024 10:27 AM
By Lisa Schlein
GENEVA — The World Health Organization warns that millions of people in the Democratic Republic of Congo are facing a health and humanitarian crisis because of escalating conflict and violence, mainly in the eastern part of the country in recent months.
The agency said the surge in violence by armed groups, principally Rwandan-backed M23 Tutsi-led rebels, an accusation denied by the Rwandan government, is leading to “mass displacement, widespread disease, gender-based violence and severe mental trauma.”
Dr. Adelheid Marschang, a WHO senior emergency officer, told journalists in Geneva Friday, “The DRC now has the highest number of people in need of humanitarian aid in the entire world, with 25.4 million affected.”
She said the DRC “remains one of the most underfunded crises,” which hampers the ability of people to receive the relief supplies and care needed to protect them from infectious diseases, hunger, and sexual and gender-based violence.
The United Nations’ $2.6 billion Humanitarian Response Plan, which aims to assist 8.7 million people in the DRC in 2024, is only 16% funded. Marschang said the WHO has received just $6.3 million of the $30 million it requires, at a minimum, until the end of the year “as the situation is expected to get worse.”
“Mass movements of people overwhelm water and sanitation systems and bring an additional burden on the population’s scarce resources,” she said. “As a result, people are facing outbreaks of cholera, measles, meningitis, mpox and plague, all exacerbated by severe flooding and landslides affecting some parts of the country.” ...
Marschang said 1 million children out of 6.9 million are malnourished and at risk of becoming severely acutely malnourished if they do not receive specialized therapeutic treatment. ...
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DR Congo: Conflict escalation linked to deadly Mpox threat
© WFP/Benjamin Anguandia
Food assistance is distributed to displaced people in the eastern DR Congo.
12 July 2024 Peace and Security
At least 25 million people have been caught up in the humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) where a neglected health emergency continues to unfold at an alarming rate, the UN health agency said on Friday.
For decades, conflict in the mineral-rich eastern DRC has triggered alarming levels of violence, mass displacement, widespread disease, gender-based violence and severe mental trauma, explained Dr Adelheid Marschang, Senior Emergency Officer at the World Health Organization (WHO).
‘Chronic and acute shock’
Today, the vast central African nation now has the “highest number of people in need of humanitarian aid in the entire world, with 25.4 million affected” and many in “chronic and acute shock”, she told journalists in Geneva.
A staggering 7.4 million people have been displaced, including 2.8 million in North Kivu alone.
The number of people forcibly uprooted has increased since the separatist M23 movement launched a major offensive in 2022, prompting national and regional military responses that have struggled to restrain the militia's advance.
Left with nothing
The resulting mass displacement has overwhelmed water and sanitation systems and brought an additional burden to the population’s scarce resources, the WHO official warned.
“About 40 per cent of the population, that is 40.8 million people, face serious food shortages, with 15.7 million facing severe food insecurity and as a result, a higher risk of malnutrition and infectious diseases,” Dr Marschang said. “If immediate action is not taken to address basic needs in DRC, over one million children will suffer from acute malnutrition.”
Mpox one of many health threats
Outbreaks of cholera, measles, meningitis, Mpox and plague have all been reported, exacerbated by severe flooding and landslides.
Specifically on Mpox – which remains a global health threat with 26 countries reporting cases to WHO this month – Dr Marschang said that DRC has seen 20,000 cases and more than 1,000 deaths from the virus since the start of 2023.
Over 11,000 cases, including 443 deaths, have been reported so far this year, “again affecting mostly children”, she noted.
Mpox spreads through close contact, causing flu-like symptoms and skin rash. Scientists raised the alarm last month about the spread of a dangerous new strain of Mpox in South Kivu and fear it will spread in overcrowded camps in and around Goma.
Military activity around those camps has made it difficult for health authorities to contain the virus if security is not granted, the UN health agency explained.
Rights crisis neglected
Earlier this week, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Bintou Keita, told the UN Security Council that the DRC faces one of the most severe and neglected humanitarian crises of our times.
Dr Marschang echoed that observation, explaining that the Humanitarian Response Plan for 2024 aims to assist 8.7 million people and requires $2.6 billion for all UN and partner agencies.
“The underfunding is severe,” she stressed, as “16 per cent of the Humanitarian Response plan is currently funded. For WHO, we are looking for something like $30 million to address the situation until the end of the year.”
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The deterioration of the security situation has accompanied the full withdrawal from South Kivu of the UN Stabilization Mission in DRC (MONUSCO), ending the first phase of disengagement from DRC following a request to close the mission from the Government in Kinshasa.
MONUSCO’s operations began winding down in January after two decades of operations, but its Head, Bintou Keita, told the UN Security Council on Monday there should not be a rush to further disengagement since this process has thrown up unexpected challenges. She explained the rebel activity from the M23 carries a “very real risk of provoking a wider regional conflict”.
Violent insecurity in DRC has reached alarming levels, UN human rights chief Volker Türk has warned, “with an absence of State authority over large swathes of territory has also cleared the way for brutal levels of violence and attacks”.
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Translation Google
Ituri: MSF suspends its activities at Drodro hospital
HUMANITARIAN
march 20, 2024
It is now official: the humanitarian medical non-governmental organization Médecin sans frontières is suspending its activities at the Drodro general reference hospital, located in the territory of Djugu in Ituri, a province in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Announcement made this Wednesday, March 20, 2024 in Bunia, capital of the province. On the night of March 6 to 7, an attack by the CODECO militia targeted this hospital, leaving one person dead (a patient) alongside looting.
An attack, considered a war crime, which motivates the MSF to close its activities there.
“ Healthcare structures are protected spaces and must not be the subject of attacks ,” recalls Gérard Uparpiu, coordinator of the Drodro project, in comments collected by buniaactualite.cd
More than 114,000 people are affected by this suspension. The general hospital remained closed for almost two weeks after this attack. Faced with these constraints, this organization calls on the parties to the conflict to ensure the protection of civil rights and the medical mission, to guarantee access to care in complete safety, to guarantee humanitarian access and the security of humanitarian organizations.
MSF has been in Ituri for more than 20 years. In Drodro, this NGO supports the hospital with pediatric care in complicated cases, a nutritional unit, injury cases, logistical offers, water supply, electricity maintenance, a laboratory unit with inputs and staff , etc.
It is therefore a real danger that awaits the population with the suspension of its activities in an area where respect for international humanitarian law is struggling to be a reality. The consequences may be visible on the population receiving this care.
However, MSF is maintaining its interventions in the Rhoo camp and its support to the Blukwa Mbi health center in the same Djugu territory.
Verite Johnson
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Translation Google
DRC: hundreds of war wounded and high risk of epidemic in the camps
MARCH 12, 2024
In the North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, fighting between the M23 and the Congolese army and their allies further intensified at the end of January. The clashes reached the border with South Kivu, causing new population displacements. Since March 2022, more than 1.6 million people have been forced to abandon their homes, in a region already devastated by 30 years of conflict.
Abdou Musengetsi, deputy medical coordinator of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), describes the current situation and the medical needs of the populations.
What are the direct consequences of this new outbreak of violence in North Kivu?
In recent weeks, violent clashes in the territory of Masisi, North Kivu, have caused a new exodus around Sake then towards Goma, the provincial capital. In the space of 10 days, nearly 250,000 people fled the fighting. They took refuge with host families, established new sites or joined existing ones, mainly to the west of Goma.
At these sites, families crowd into makeshift shelters that offer little or no protection from the rain. Every day, people tell us they struggle to have enough food and clean water. Hundreds of people are forced to share a single toilet and have nowhere to wash. A woman who recently arrived in Goma told us that she had fled with nothing but her children and the clothes she was wearing, forced to flee several times as the fighting got closer. Today, she lives completely destitute, with no possibility of returning home due to the insecurity there.
At the same time, war wounded flocked to hospitals and health centers supported by MSF in Masisi territory. Over the past two months, teams at Mweso hospital, managed by the Ministry of Health and supported by MSF, have treated 146 war-wounded people, mainly for gunshot wounds or explosions. But access to the main MSF structures in the north, west and south of Goma has become almost impossible due to insecurity and fighting near the roads, making it extremely difficult to transport vital supplies to these areas. This situation has seriously hampered humanitarian and medical access for the hundreds of thousands of people present in Masisi territory.
How is the South Kivu province also affected?
The fighting on the border of North Kivu and South Kivu caused the flight of tens of thousands of people, mainly towards the south, towards the town of Minova, which was already hosting many displaced people. People are sheltering where they can, in schools and in dozens of different sites.
Some health structures that we support in South Kivu have been overwhelmed by a growing number of patients suffering from illnesses linked to the deterioration of their living conditions. We are also seeing an increase in cases of sexual violence and war injuries. Minova hospital has received more than 167 injured patients since February 2, including several women and children. In a single day, March 7, healthcare workers received 40 injured people. In addition, seven people had already died when they arrived at the hospital. Patients are forced to share beds and staff work around the clock with limited resources. The shots are very close, the front line is only five kilometers away.
What are your main concerns?
The fighting has forced thousands of people to settle in overcrowded and unsanitary sites. In terms of health, we therefore fear an explosion of diseases linked to poor hygiene conditions, in particular cholera. If we add to this the lack of access to drinking water, we obtain an explosive cocktail for the spread of cholera. We have already been facing this in some sites for several months, and the new influx of people risks exacerbating the existing epidemic.
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