DRC: Efforts to combat cholera in North Kivu camps
Briefing Notes, 9 November 2007
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Ron Redmond – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at the press briefing, on 9 November 2007, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
UNHCR and its partners have stepped up this week efforts to curb the spread of cholera which broke out in early October in five camps hosting some 45,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Mugunga area west of Goma in the troubled North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). According to health workers, by the end of October, there were a total of 439 suspected cases of cholera – 189 of them reported over a five-day period (24-28 October). The latest reports from the camps indicate that the cholera situation appears to be stabilizing as the number of new suspected cases is slightly dropping.
North Kivu province is facing the worst internal displacement since the end of the civil war in 2004. Some 375,000 Congolese have been forced to leave their homes in the North Kivu province since last December due to continued fighting between government forces, renegade troops and rebels. More than 160,000 were newly displaced just over the past two months.
This week, UNHCR and its NGO partner – ASODE – distributed soap to nearly 20,000 IDPs in the two Mugunga camps – Mugunga I and II. We hope that these efforts, improved water supply and sanitation, coupled with an intensive public awareness campaign on hygiene will contain the worrying spread of cholera in the camps. However, there are fears that the poor living conditions at Lac Vert – a nearby makeshift site hosting more than 10,000 IDPs – could contribute to the further spread of cholera. On Wednesday, UNHCR began the transfer of IDPs from Lac Vert to Buhimba, a new camp which we set up more than three weeks ago. We plan to complete this transfer over the next 12 days. The UNHCR-built Buhimba camp, with capacity for more than 10,000 people, has the necessary basic health, water and sanitation facilities.
With sharpening inter-ethnic divides and a continuous build-up of military forces, UNHCR remains deeply concerned about the risks of severe human rights abuses and violence against civilians. We welcome all efforts to find a negotiated solution to the ongoing confrontations and prevent further the suffering of the North Kivu population brought on by prolonged instability and fighting.
The crisis in North Kivu continues
Insecurity in Democratic Republic of the Congo's North Kivu province continues, with more than 500,000 people internally displaced, many for the second or third time. Armed combat, persecution of civilians, killings, abductions, sexual abuse and forced recruitment of children still lead to displacement. Reports of rapes and murders number in the thousands. Some 176,000 of the displaced live in Masisi District, including 49,000 hosted in 19 camps. Conditions are harsh, with entire families living in one-room ramshackle huts with no water or services. UNHCR is very concerned about the security situation, living conditions and the future of the displaced. Even though some 36,000 people living in camps in North Kivu managed to return home in 2010, approximately 72,000 remain.
UNHCR is coordinating 31 camps for internally displaced people (IDP) in the whole of North Kivu, providing emergency assistance. UNHCR is facing enormous challenges in terms of access to the areas where the IDPs are hosted and continues to plead for humanitarian access to assist the people in need.
The crisis in North Kivu continues
Congo's river refugees
More than 100,000 Congolese refugees have crossed the Oubangui River in search of safety in neighbouring Republic of the Congo since inter-ethnic violence erupted in their home areas late last year. They fled from Equateur province in the north-west of Democratic Republic of the Congo after Enyele militiamen launched deadly assaults in October on ethnic Munzayas over fishing and farming rights in the Dongo area. The tensions have spread to other parts of the province.
The majority of the displaced are camping in public buildings and some 100 sites along a 600-kilometre stretch of the Oubangui River, including with host communities. The massive influx is stretching the meagre resources of the impoverished and remote region. Help is urgently needed for both the refugees and the host communities.
The relief operation is logistically complex and expensive because the region can only be reached by plane or boat. However, few boats are available and most are in need of repair. Fuel is expensive and difficult to procure.
Congo's river refugees
Displaced in North Kivu: A Life on the Run
Fighting rages on in various parts of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), with seemingly no end in sight for hundreds of thousands of Congolese forced to flee violence and instability over the past two years. The ebb and flow of conflict has left many people constantly on the move, while many families have been separated. At least 1 million people are displaced in North Kivu, the hardest hit province. After years of conflict, more than 1,000 people still die every day - mostly of hunger and treatable diseases. In some areas, two out of three women have been raped. Abductions persist and children are forcefully recruited to fight. Outbreaks of cholera and other diseases have increased as the situation deteriorates and humanitarian agencies struggle to respond to the needs of the displaced.
When the displacement crisis worsened in North Kivu in 2007, the UN refugee agency sent emergency teams to the area and set up operations in several camps for internally displaced people (IDPs). Assistance efforts have also included registering displaced people and distributing non-food aid. UNHCR carries out protection monitoring to identify human rights abuses and other problems faced by IDPs in North and South Kivu.
Displaced in North Kivu: A Life on the Run
Democratic Republic of the Congo: Kimoka Returnees
Conflict forced hundreds of thousands of Congolese to flee their homes in North Kivu province in 2007-2008. The villagers of Kimoka are finally returning.
Refugees in Republic of Congo
Tens of thousands of people have reportedly fled a wave of ethnic violence in the north-west of the embattled Democratic Republic of the Congo. The civilians have fled from Equateur province, crossing the Ubangi River and seeking shelter in Republic of the Congo.
High Commissioner Guterres visits eastern Congo
UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres visits some of the estimated 2.1 million displaced people in eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and asks for more international assistance.
| 
| 
| 
