Tens of thousands uprooted in North Kivu face disease and malnutrition as conflict spreads

Tens of thousands of people uprooted by violence in and around Goma, the capital of North Kivu Province, are at a risk of disease and malnutrition as humanitarian aid and public services grind to a halt. 

 

Nearly 100,000 people are now estimated to shelter in a string of settlements just west of the city, with service and aid programs suspended due to the violence. Access to water, sanitation, health care, food and shelter is extremely limited. 
 

“Families fleeing the crisis are telling IRC’s teams that they have eaten one single meal in four days,” says Ron Paul Veilleux, the IRC’s director in North and South Kivu. “Those fleeing face significant risk of disease and malnutrition.”

The threat of cholera and diarrhea is particularly high. Health workers had been recording 60 cases of cholera a day in Kanyaruchinya, a camp north of Goma, that has been vacated in the meantime.

 

Residents of the camp fled as fighting crept closer and there is concern that disease might have travelled with the displaced. 

 

“It is imperative that aid agencies be provided immediate safe passage so that we can reach the most vulnerable,” says Veilleux. 

 

Meanwhile, millions of Goma residents who stayed put are suffering from a severe shortage of power and water. Incidents of looting and other criminality have also been reported, although far fewer than initially feared. By Wednesday the city was calmer, following the takeover of Goma by the M23 rebel group on Tuesday and the withdrawal of the Congolese army. 

 

To escape the crisis in North Kivu thousands of civilians have fled towards the neighboring South Kivu Province, which has also been marred by devastating armed conflict, insecurity and mass displacement. As the front line now advances towards South Kivu there is considerable concern of further displacement and a widening humanitarian crisis.

Veilleux expresses concern about increasing human rights abuses, noting pervasive and targeted attacks against civilians by various armed groups. 

 

“The IRC joins the others in the humanitarian community in the call on all parties to uphold their responsibilities under international law, which bars attacks on the civilian population,” Veilleux adds. 

 

Eastern DR Congo has been plagued for almost two decades by widespread violence, human rights abuses, destruction, looting of property and infrastructure, and a dearth of basic services. The recent escalation of conflict is the worst experienced in the region over the past four years. It is estimated that close to 650,000 people have been uprooted in the two provinces since the beginning of this year alone. 

The IRC has been operating in the region since 1996 and is currently the largest aid organization in the Kivus, reaching an estimated 1.8 million people. Our current programs focus on emergency assistance, healthcare, women’s protection and empowerment, education and strengthening communities’ capacity for recovery. Since the current conflict escalated a few months ago, the IRC played a pivotal role in containing a cholera outbreak and assisting in community reconstruction following armed conflict in the Rutshuru District to the north of Goma.

As soon as it is granted safe passage, the IRC will carry out rapid assessments in order to gauge needs to inform emergency programming in women’s protection and empowerment, environmental health, primary healthcare and assistance to displaced populations.

 

NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information and interviews please contact Sinziana Demian (Goma), 

+243 995 200 516 and Paul Donohoe (London), +44 (0)20 7692 2727/ 07779 624 385 

 

For more information on the IRC please visit Rescue.org

 

Sinziana Demian (Goma)