Democratic Republic of the Congo: Humanitarian Highlights #10 (1 – 30 November 2023) – Democratic Republic of the Congo

FUNDING

EU ALLOCATES €13 MIILION TO SUPPORT HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE IN THE EAST

On 8 November, the European Commission announced the allocation of 13.3 million euros to reinforce the humanitarian response to the escalating violence and deteriorating humanitarian situation in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This additional funding represents half of the overall €26.7 million earmarked in November to respond to multiple humanitarian crises exacerbated by conflicts and climate-related disasters in the Great Lakes region and in the Horn of Africa, specifically in South Sudan,
Uganda, Somalia, and the DRC. Since the beginning of the year, the European Union has allocated nearly 96 million euros to humanitarian assistance, in addition to EUHAF (European Humanitarian Air Flights) and humanitarian airlifts organized to support the response to the humanitarian crisis in Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu provinces.

EPIDEMICS

OVER 12,000 MONKEYPOX CASES REPORTED IN DRC

The DRC Minister of Public Health reported 12 569 suspected Monkeypox cases and 581 deaths (4.6 per cent case-fatality) between 1 January and 12 November 2023. Monkeypox affects 156 health zones in 85 per cent of the country (22 provinces out of 26 affected), including areas (Kinshasa, Lualaba, and South Kivu) that had never reported monkeypox in the past. This is the highest annual monkeypox record ever reported. In February 2023, the Ministry of Public Health prepared a budgeted national monkeypox preparedness and response plan, including a Monkeypox Emergency Operations Centre and Incident Management Team, monitoring, and detection nationwide. The response capacity remains low, including limited epidemiological surveillance and risk communication capacity. No vaccination program is available for at-risk populations. In August, the European Union allocated 300,000 euros to the DRC through the INGO The Alliance for International Medical Action (ALIMA) for monkeypox response.

AT LEAST 19 CHOLERA OUTBREAKS IN DRC SINCE EARLY 2023

The National Program for the Elimination of Cholera and the Control of Other Diarrheal Diseases (PNECHOL-MD) notified over 42,000 cholera cases between 1 January – 20 November in 14 of the DRC’s 26 provinces. North Kivu recorded 64 per cent of the national caseload. Displaced people’s sites are the most affected due to precarious hygiene and sanitation conditions and poor access to safe water.
Cholera is endemic in five of the six most affected provinces: North Kivu (over 26,000 cases), South Kivu (over 7, 000), Tanganyika (over 5,000), Haut-Katanga (over 1,000), Sankuru (over 700) and Haut-Lomami (over 700). Since the beginning of 2023, the health authorities have reported 19 cholera outbreaks; 36 health zones have reached the threshold of 100 cases.
As part of the response, the DRC Government launched in October a national plan to eradicate cholera by 2030.

MEASLES AFFECTS OVER 200 HEALTH ZONES

Since January, measles has spread to the country’s 26 provinces, affecting 8 in 10 children under 5.
According to WHO and the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), of the 22 million children who did not receive their first dose of measles vaccine in 2022, more than half lived in just 10 countries, including the DRC. Between 1 January and 20 November, national health authorities have reported over 282,000 cases. This is twice the number of cases reported in the same period in 2022 (over 148,000 cases). More than 200 health zones are experiencing epidemics. Since August 2010, the DRC has experienced a resurgence of measles epidemics in almost all the country’s provinces. Regarding response and prevention activities in affected and at-risk areas, measles vaccination reached 226,000 children (aged 5-10 years), with support from MSF in Équateur, Ituri, Bas-Uele, Haut-Lomami and Kwango provinces. At least 5,278 measles cases have received medical treatment. WHO has supplied 70 care kits covering the needs of 2,600 affected people and 80 consumables kits.

FLOODS

FLOODS DESTROY 2,000 HOMES, LEAVE 70,000 HOMELESS IN TSHOPO PROVINCE

Since 21 November, the Congo River and many of its branches have flooded a dozen villages in five territories of Tshopo province, leaving nearly 70,000 people homeless, according to provincial authorities.
More than 2,000 homes have been destroyed. Many health and school facilities are flooded. Provincial authorities report severe damages to roads and considerable crop lands devastated. No humanitarian response has yet been delivered to the flood-affected.
The risk of water-borne diseases is very high as many flooded areas (Makiso-Kisangani, Lubunga and Tshopo) are home to 100,000 displaced people. The disaster has accentuated the vulnerability of host communities and the displaced populations.
Advocacy actions are underway with stakeholders to address urgent needs.

4,800 PEOPLE HOMELESS FOLLOWING FLOODS IN HAUT-UELE PROVINCE

On 13 November, local sources, including the Catholic Church authorities, reported that three rivers burst their banks, flooding Dungu city and leaving more than 4,300 people homeless. The flood has damaged 720 houses, eight schools and five health centres, disrupting education activities for over 1,000 children and isolating over 5,000 inhabitants from health services. The affected populations are currently without assistance, according to church sources.
These recent floods follow the one on 30 October in the same locality, which left at least 500 people homeless. Local authorities appeal for emergency assistance for the affected population.

HAUT-LOMAMI

FOUR KILLED IN INTERCOMMUNAL VIOLENCE IN MALEMBA-NKULU

On 13 November, intercommunal tensions in the Malemba-Nkulu locality resulted in four people killed.
Members of the local community accused the ‘’non-resident’’ of murdering two of their community members the day before. The Congolese army calmed the situation.
Nevertheless, there is a high risk that violence will resurge due to the growing sentiment against the non-resident community. Hundreds of them – estimates not yet available – have fled Malemba-Nkulu to seek refuge in the neighbouring Manono territory. A month earlier, another intercommunal conflict forced around 10,000 people from the locality of Umbanongo to move to Manono territory. Tensions between residents and non-resident communities will likely exacerbate if the authorities do not properly manage this situation. Between 1992 and 1993, inter-community conflicts in Katanga province killed some 5,000 people and displaced 100,000 others.

KASAI

OVER 1,300 PEOPLE DISPLACED BY INTERCOMMUNAL VIOLENCE IN DIBAYA

On 27 November, intercommunal violence relating to a land dispute on the outskirts of Tshimbilu locality (Dibaya health zone) claimed the lives of two people and injured more than 10 others, according to local sources. The dispute forced over 1,300 people from the two communities to move to neighboring villages.
A lull was observed after the deployment of security forces in the area. Intercommunal conflicts are recurrent in Kasai province. Last September, a land dispute between the populations from Tulembi and Mubemba villages, in Mweka territory, caused the death of 10 people and the displacement of several others, according to local civil society.

TANGANYIKA

51,000 RETURNEES HAVE ACCESS TO SAFE WATER IN NYUNZU TERRITORY

Through the construction of boreholes, springs and water wells, launched in November 2022, the NGO CONCERN has improved access to drinking water for over 51,000 returnees in the health areas of Sulumba,
Kisengo, Kalima Kabeya Mukena and Makumbo. This assistance program, supported by USAID until March 2024, will help reduce the severity level in water, sanitation and hygiene in these areas. It will assist those already supplied (health, agricultural recovery, shelter, etc.) in this return zone.