UNITED NATIONS, March 28 (NNN-XINHUA) — A cholera outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) threatens more than 1 million displaced persons, many living precariously, UN humanitarians said.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the outbreak is in North Kivu province, with areas of Goma, Karisimbi, Masisi and Nyiragongo particularly impacted.
“Health authorities have registered 1,800 confirmed and suspected cases between March 13-19 compared to some 1,000 cases the previous week,” the humanitarian office said. Since the beginning of the year to last week, more than 6,200 cases had been registered.
OCHA said the area impacted hosts over 1 million displaced people with precarious living conditions in many temporary sites.
“We are concerned that people’s limited access to water and inadequate hygiene conditions facilitates the spread of cholera,” the office said. “We and our partners continue to support cholera treatment centers. However, resources are limited and the situation may deteriorate further without additional funding to scale up the response.”
Cholera is endemic in the DRC, including in north and south Kivu provinces, the World Health Organization said in its report on the country last month.
The significant number of displaced is the result of years of raids by armed rebel groups, particularly in eastern DRC’s Ituri and north and south Kivu provinces. — NNN-XINHUA
