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Violence in eastern DRC displaces tens of thousands and health facilities looted; cholera outbreaks expand
Summary
U.N. officials reported new clashes in North Kivu that displaced more than 45,000 people, looting of two health facilities in Walikale territory, and cholera outbreaks declared in four provinces; humanitarian response is constrained by limited supplies and logistics.
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported continuing violence in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo that is driving people from their homes and undermining health care and disease-control efforts.
Local partners told the U.N. that new clashes in the Mujanda area near the town of Masisi in North Kivu displaced more than 45,000 people in a single day. In a separate incident in Walikale territory, attackers looted medicine stocks and supplies from two health facilities in Kibua and Kichanga health centers, further crippling access to care for more than 120,000 people in the Kibua area, the U.N. spokesperson said.
OCHA warned that cholera continues to spread in the east: outbreaks had been declared in four provinces — North Kivu, South Kivu, Tanganyika and Maniema. In South Kivu, OCHA said the Mulongwe refugee camp near Uvira, hosting nearly 15,000 refugees from Burundi, reported at least eight confirmed cases; the camp faces acute risk because of poor hygiene, limited water and inadequate sanitation. In Kalehe territory, Minova reported 77 cholera cases between March 31 and April 6, a surge that the U.N. said was nearly five times the epidemic threshold that should trigger an emergency response.
Humanitarian organizations are working with local authorities to contain the spread, but response efforts are hindered by strained health-care capacity and logistical challenges, the U.N. said.
