Following a peace agreement signed by rebel forces and the government two weeks ago, the International Rescue Committee is increasing its efforts to provide health care to those displaced by recent fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Bob Kitchen, the IRC’s emergency response team coordinator, said 11 health centers and one hospital in North Kivu have been given malaria prevention medicine, antibiotics and medical supplies. The hospital and health centers serve nearly 200,000 people in the war-torn area.
The IRC is also training doctors, nurses and midwives on how to protect themselves from infections and distributing protective gloves and disposable syringes. Health workers are being trained to perform safe deliveries, identify and treat sexually transmitted diseases and to assist rape victims.
“Given the many incidences of sexual violence that have occurred during the fighting, local health workers have told us how important this training is,” Kitchen said.
The IRC’s education team has also trained 90 teachers in how to use a national curriculum and related teaching materials and techniques.
“According to the results of pre and post-tests, those teachers who received the training demonstrated a 56 percent increase in knowledge and skills,” Kitchen said.
For young people, any break from the violence that has characterized life in North Kivu is welcome. So over the last month, IRC staff members have organized football, volleyball and dance tournaments for nearly 800 children and teenagers.
“Some of the kids made up songs and plays about their experiences, including one about being forced to carry weapons and being sexually abused,” Kitchen said.
The Jan. 23 peace agreement between the government and rebel leader Laurent Nkunda kindled a spark of hope among the 425,000 people who have displaced by fighting over the last year. But only days after the agreement was signed, renewed fighting broke out between rival rebel groups. New negotiations, which could make or break the peace agreement, are ongoing.
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Special Report: Congo's Forgotten Crisis
