Voices from a forgotten crisis in DR Congo | Doctors Without Borders

In a grim milestone, the UN announced in late October that there are now a record-breaking 7 million internally displaced people in DRC, with around 5 million concentrated in the eastern part of the country.

The violence in North Kivu has triggered several waves of displacement of people into South Kivu, notably around Minova and surrounding villages, where the already-poor hygiene conditions have led to an increase in cases of cholera. At the same time, the closure of health facilities in North Kivu due to the insecurity has forced people who need ongoing health care to move south. 

In Ituri, one-third of the population is now displaced as a result of years of conflict. People living in such prolonged displacement have been hit hard, both mentally and physically.  

“Ituri is a region where over the past 30 years, we have seen a major disinvestment in even the most basic medical services and infrastructure, which makes access to any medical services already very problematic without conflict on top [of that], » said Alira Halidou, MSF head of mission in Ituri. 

A wake-up call for the world 

Every day, MSF teams witness the impact of the dire living conditions displaced people are living in—makeshift shelters without essentials like adequate food, safe drinking water, or basic sanitation. They have become extremely vulnerable to illness and infectious diseases such as cholera and measles. Women face the threat of sexual violence, which we have seen in extremely high numbers in the displacement camps near Goma.