Congo: Nearly 4 Million Dead in 6 Year Conflict

Following the Democratic Republic of Congo's first democratic election in nearly half a century, civilians continue to be killed, injured and displaced by conflict in the eastern part of the country. The U.N. calls the situation “extremely volatile.”

A major International Rescue Committee survey found that nearly 4 million people were killed from war-related causes in Congo since 1998.  “In a matter of six years, the world lost a population equivalent to the entire country of Ireland or the city of Los Angeles,” says the IRC’s Dr. Richard Brennan, one of the study’s authors. “How many innocent Congolese have to perish before the world starts paying attention?”  

Inside Congo, An Unspeakable Toll
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The Lancet Publishes IRC Mortality Study from DR Congo:
3.9 Million Have Died: 38,000 Die per Month
Article   l  Study l  Map and Tables l  Crisis at a Glance

Kevin Sites in the HotZone
Yahoo! News covers IRC Programs in DRC.

Researching Death to Save Lives
Dozens of IRC researchers crossed frontlines and traveled across a territory the size of Western Europe, in one of the most expansive and precise mortality surveys ever conducted in a conflict zone.

What Saves Lives? Security, Access to Health Services
Ongoing insecurity and a widespread breakdown of the health system mean that over 30,000 people die every month from easily preventable and treatable diseases.