One million civilians flee east DR Congo in surging attacks, IOM says

"Across the country, over 26 million people need humanitarian aid from a population of around 100 million," the IOM said. Read more.

Report at The EastAfrican - theeastafrican.co.ke

By AFP (Agence France-Presse) More by this Author

Dated Sunday 18 June 2023 - full copy:

One million civilians flee east DR Congo in surging attacks, IOM says

People displaced by war between M23 rebels and DRC army war flee towards the city of Goma in North Kivu Province on November 15, 2022. PHOTO | ALEXIS HUGUET | AFP

Almost one million people have fled their homes in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo so far this year, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said on Thursday.

"A surge in attacks on civilians by non-state armed groups has newly displaced close to one million people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since January," the IOM said in a statement.

"An estimated 6.1 million people are internally displaced in the DRC, a 17 percent increase from October 2022," it added.

"As the conflict intensifies, the humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate, and millions are facing acute food insecurity as well as other critical needs," the UN agency said.

"Since the beginning of the year armed attacks against civilians in the eastern Kivu and Ituri regions have resulted in loss of life, massive population displacements and growing instability," the organisation stressed.

"Across the country, over 26 million people need humanitarian aid from a population of around 100 million," the IOM said.

In the early hours of Monday, at least 46 people, half of them children, were killed in a militia attack on a camp for displaced people in Ituri province, security analysts and a local community leader said.

That attack was blamed on the Cooperative for the Development of the Congo (Codeco) militia, which claims to protect the Lendu community from rival ethnic group, the Hema.

"This tragedy also resulted in the renewed displacement of over 7,800 people from the site, destruction of shelter and personal belongings," the IOM said.

"IOM condemns this heinous violation of international humanitarian law and recalls that attacks against civilians may constitute war crimes," it added.

On Thursday the International Criminal Court in The Hague announced it will examine allegations of war crimes by armed groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo's volatile east, after Kinshasa made a new formal referral to the tribunal.

Kinshasa has accused the M23 rebel group of attacks in the DRC's mineral-rich North Kivu, and says Rwanda is backing the Tutsi-led militia. Kigali denies any involvement in the violence.

Armed groups have plagued much of the eastern DRC for three decades, a legacy of regional wars that flared in the 1990s and 2000s.

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View original: https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/news/east-africa/one-million-civilians-flee-congo-as-attacks-surge-4273798

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DR Congo: 3000+ Ebola cases, 2000 deaths

Press Release from World Health Organization (WHO)  Dated Friday 06 September 2019 WHO and partners to help the Government boost health facility defences against Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

At least 155 health care workers have been infected with the Ebola virus disease since the beginning of this tenth outbreak

GENEVA, Switzerland, September 6, 2019/ -- To strengthen health practitioners’ proficiency in preventing the spread of Ebola virus disease in health facilities, the Commission for Prevention and Biosecurity of the Ministry of Health of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) launched on 5 September a guideline and training package on infection prevention and control that targets at least 3 000 nurses, doctors and other health care workers. During the current Ebola outbreak, working in or transiting through health facilities present a high risk of exposure to the virus. With the ongoing heightened attention to equipping health facilities with Ebola-specific response units, the Government of the DRC is intent on covering all potential weak points by training staff on infection prevention, using standard guidelines recently revised by a team of technical specialists from the Health Ministry, the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children’s Fund and the United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. The ongoing tenth outbreak of Ebola in the DRC, which passed its one-year mark on 1 August, is the country’s worst. The number of confirmed and suspected cases have passed 3 000, with the number of deaths exceeding 2 000. As of 25 August, nearly 18% of the total cases registered were hospital-acquired infections. At least 155 health care workers have been infected with the Ebola virus disease since the beginning of this tenth outbreak. WHO is supporting the Commission for Prevention and Biosecurity in boosting infection prevention and hygiene training. “I salute the progress being made in saving lives from Ebola virus disease,” said WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, “But the situation remains critical, and a number of challenges remain. As part of our commitment to strengthening the health system of the DRC, we want to ensure that health facilities are not contributing to the spread of infectious diseases and this includes Ebola.” With funding from the United States Agency for International Development, the UK Department for International Development and the World Bank, the training package provides a standardized approach to practices and procedures for health facilities and integrates measures related to water management, sanitation and hygiene, which are essential for preventing the spread of infectious disease. The guidelines and training package will be rolled out over the next three months, beginning in Goma and targeting health care workers and other actors involved in primary response. This will enforce the universal application of infection prevention and control standards throughout the health care chain. The revised guidelines will not only improve the infection prevention and control measures for Ebola but also serve as a broader health systems strengthening tool for preventing the spread of other infectious diseases within health facilities. The training course and application of the prescribed standards will be monitored over the coming year in order to evaluate their effectiveness and possible impact on health facility-acquired Ebola virus disease. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Health Organization (WHO). SOURCE: World Health Organization (WHO) View original: https://www.africa-newsroom.com/press/who-and-partners-to-help-the-government-boost-health-facility-defences-against-ebola-in-the-democratic-republic-of-the-congo?lang=en

South Sudan: Dispels fears of Ebola outbreak

Article from Radio Tamazuj.org

Dated 07 July 2019 - Juba, South Sudan

South Sudan dispels fears of Ebola outbreak

File photo: WHO Uganda

South Sudan’s Ministry of Health has dispelled fears of an Ebola outbreak following a confirmed case in Aliwara, in the eastern part of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), some 70 kilometers from the border.

Addressing reporters in Juba on Friday, the undersecretary in the health ministry, Makur Matur Koriom said South Sudan is safe from the Ebola virus.

"I would like to take the opportunity to assure the South Sudanese people and residents in this country that so far there is no Ebola in South Sudan," he said.

"We responded quickly and the national taskforce convened on that day and immediately informed the taskforce and our partners in Yei about the developments in the DRC," he added.

Meanwhile, World Health Organization (WHO) officer in charge of health emergencies in South Sudan, Guracha Guyo said they are committed to improve Ebola preparedness mechanisms in the country.

"All of us are committed to support the government in its endeavor to make sure that the Ebola virus will be prevented from coming to South Sudan," he said.

According to the WHO official, more than 700 frontline healthcare workers have been provided with Ebola vaccines in Yei River State.

South Sudan suffered Ebola outbreak in 2004 after WHO reported 20 cases, including five deaths, from Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) in Yambio.

Ebola is a rare but deadly virus that causes fever, body aches, and diarrhea, and sometimes bleeding inside and outside the body.

SOURCE: https://radiotamazuj.org/en/news/article/south-sudan-dispels-fears-of-ebola-outbreak

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Photo: A worker from the World Health Organisation decontaminates the doorway of a house on a plot where two cases of Ebola were found, in the village of Mabalako, in eastern Congo, 17 June 2019.

Violence in DR Congo and Great Lakes region gets all-out attention from the UN Security Council

Report by DipoNews.com dated Thursday, 25 July 2013:

Violence in the DRC and Great Lakes region gets all-out attention from the UNSC

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been the topic of multiple United Nations Security Council (UNSC)'s meetings this month: On July 11, Under-Secretary-General of Peacekeeping Operations Hervé Ladsous introduced the latest UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) report; on July 19, the Group of Experts (GoE) sent its interim report to the DRC Sanctions Committee; and on July 22, Azerbaijani Ambassador Agshin Mehdiyev and Chair of this Committee presented his conclusions to the UNSC.

The upsurge in violence in the DRC and the Great Lakes region between the UN/Congolese troops and several armed groups including the March 23 Movement (M23), the Forces Démocratiques de Libération du Rwanda (FDLR), the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF-NALU) and the Mayi Mayi Kata-Katanga prompted a UNSC ministerial on July 25 whose presidential statement reiterated the international community's support for the implementation of the commitments under the Peace, Security and Cooperation (PSC) Framework agreed on February 24.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (see his remarks and report), the President of the World Bank Group, Jim Yong Kim, and Mr. Ban's Special Envoy for the Great  Lakes region, Mary Robinson, briefed the UNSC on their trip to the DRC, Rwanda and Uganda on May 22-24. The UNSC welcomed the announcement made by the World Bank of USD 1 bn in planned funding for development projects in the Great Lakes region and commended "the personal diplomatic engagement" of SG Ban and reaffirmed its strong support to Mrs Robinson who was encouraged "to lead, coordinate and assess" the implementation of national and regional commitments under the PSC Framework in view of the next meeting of the "11+4" Regional Oversight Mechanism scheduled for September.

The meeting took place amid growing fears voiced by humanitarian organizations about a possible UN-led military offensive which could make the humanitarian situation worse. The diplomats focused on Resolution 2098 and the further implementation of the decision to create a 3,000-strong intervention brigade as part of the MONUSCO. Also, the regional oversight mechanism of the PSC Framework held its first meeting in Addis Ababa on May 26 and welcomed the establishment of a technical support committee to define regional benchmark, several days after the M23 carried out attacks in the Mutaho area, in the vicinity of Goma.

Additional attacks targeted the Congolese army on July 11 in Kamango and the MONUSCO on July 14 along the Muba-Kamango axis at the initiative of the ADF-NALU,   which resulted in several casualties and prompted over 60,000 refugees to flee to neighboring Uganda. Besides, the UNSC took note that hundreds of M23 combatants, including individuals listed by the UN sanctions regime concerning the DRC, fled from the DRC into Rwanda on March 18, however appreciating the initial steps swiftly taken by the government of Rwanda to handle this situation.

Once again, the UNSC demanded that all the armed groups cease immediately all forms of violence and fully disband and disarm. According to French Minister delegate for development Pascal Canfin, "these attacks severely compromised regional and international efforts to find a lasting solution to the crisis in the Great Lakes region," that's why France and other countries have urged the "swift implementation" of the MONUSCO intervention brigade. 

Read more
Renewed fears on DRC's stability as M23 advances towards Goma, civilians flee to Uganda
Rwanda and South Korea (ROK) increase bilateral cooperation, sign one Development agreement

Click on the links at source: 
http://www.diplonews.com/intro/2013/20130726_UNSCFocusOnDRC.php