geneva — 

The Democratic Republic of Congo is facing high levels of hunger, poverty, malnutrition, and disease, according to the World Health Organization. Particularly concerning is the situation in the eastern region, where ongoing conflicts between armed groups and government troops have forced millions of individuals to flee from their residences.

“According to Dr. Boureima Hama Sambo, the representative of WHO in the DRC, the country is currently facing the second-largest displacement crisis in the world, trailing only behind Sudan. The number of individuals who have been forced to flee due to violence has been steadily increasing since the beginning of this year.”

Sambo, speaking to reporters in Geneva on Friday, stated from the city’s capital, Kinshasa, that a convergence of violence, extreme weather events, and disease outbreaks has escalated the humanitarian and general health conditions for millions, who are facing challenges in finding adequate food, secure shelter, and resources to prevent the spread of illnesses.

According to him, hospitals are struggling to handle the influx of injured individuals. Nearly 10 million people are currently displaced. Approximately 25.4 million people, or a quarter of the population, are impacted by poverty and hunger. The widespread occurrence of cholera and other contagious illnesses poses a considerable danger to the overall health of the population.

The United Nations relief organizations report that over 40% of children in the DRC, which is approximately 6 million children, experience chronic malnutrition. This condition results in stunted growth, reduced cognitive abilities, and for those with severe acute malnutrition, a potential risk of death.

Sambo explained that the combination of malnutrition and diseases is escalating the likelihood of death, particularly for children, and placing added strain on the healthcare system.

According to him, women and girls are bearing the brunt of warfare and displacement, with 30,000 incidents of gender-based violence being reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2023, ranking among the highest globally.

Flooding heightens risk

In addition to issues caused by conflicts, the OCHA has reported that extensive flooding has caused destruction in 18 out of the DRC’s 26 provinces. This has resulted in over 2 million people, with nearly 60% of them being children, requiring aid.

The World Health Organization states that floods are increasing the likelihood of diarrheal and water-based illnesses. This, combined with the spread of other ailments such as cholera, measles, polio, yellow fever, anthrax, and plague, has severely weakened an already vulnerable healthcare system.

“DRC is facing its worst cholera outbreak since 2017 with 50,000 suspected cases and 470 deaths recorded in 2023,” said Sambo, adding that the risk is particularly high in sites for internally displaced people where “living conditions are dire.”

According to him, the nation is currently facing its biggest measles outbreak since 2019. There have been almost 28,000 reported cases and 750 deaths since the beginning of this year.

He stated that the combination of measles and malnutrition significantly affects the health of children under five years old. The situation is made even worse by the limited availability of vaccines and vaccination services.

The danger of mpox is increasing.

Besides these issues, the World Health Organization cautions that mpox (formerly known as monkeypox) has been increasing throughout the country in the past year. There have been approximately 4,000 suspected cases and 271 deaths reported.

This indicates a greater percentage of fatalities compared to a year-long public health crisis declared by the WHO in May 2022. According to the report, over two thirds of the current cases are in children.

In 1970, a 9-month-old child in the DRC (known as Zaire at the time) was diagnosed with Mpox, a disease that can be transmitted from animals to humans. According to Dr. Rosamund Lewis, a WHO expert on Mpox, children are still the most vulnerable to contracting and succumbing to this illness.

“The number of occurrences has been steadily rising over time. In 2023, we observed a number of occurrences that was more than twice as high as the number in 2022. This highlights a significant worry about the ongoing transmission of the illness, not just through animal-to-human contact but also through sexual interactions between individuals,” she stated.

One noteworthy aspect of transmission in the DRC is the recent revelation of sexual transmission within Clade 1, a subtype of mpox that was previously unknown to occur before the year 2023. This new development involves reports of sexual transmission in a separate region of the country, which is not typically affected by mpox.

Lewis stated that the infection is spreading in regions with high levels of economic exchange, including cross-border activity and a bustling commercial sex industry.

The World Health Organization has announced that there has been an increase in the spread of mpox to areas that were previously not affected, resulting in almost every province, including Kinshasa, reporting cases. It has cautioned that this poses a danger to neighboring countries and potentially to other regions as well.

The WHO official, Sambo, noted that the country’s humanitarian needs are rapidly increasing, as almost 20 million individuals are in need of health aid this year. Despite facing numerous challenges, he stated that the WHO has been expanding its health efforts since the previous year.

He reported that the WHO administered nearly 5 million cholera vaccinations in November, primarily in the eastern regions, and also provided vaccinations for millions of people during a severe measles outbreak last year. He also announced the WHO’s upcoming polio vaccination campaign in all 26 provinces, scheduled to begin next week.

The speaker stated that it will be a challenge to maintain important programs that save lives if the funding for healthcare remains insufficient. They pointed out that the World Health Organization’s request for $624 million this year has only been fulfilled with less than 14 percent of the total amount.

He is strongly appealing for the world to not ignore a situation that could potentially have harmful consequences for security and health in the area.

Source: voanews.com