Bodies, untreated water, rain add up to health risks in DR Congo: UN

Moscow, Feb 4 (IANS) Bodies in the streets, no clean water and an intensifying rainy season trigger escalating health risks in Goma, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), UN humanitarians said.

“There are still bodies of people who died in the violence lying in the streets of Goma,” said the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Monday. “Morgues are at capacity, and hospitals and health centres are overwhelmed with injured people.”

OCHA said that while efforts to chlorinate water are underway, with the support of the humanitarian partners, the lack of drinking water is forcing people in Goma to rely on untreated water from Lake Kivu. And the rainy season makes matters worse, reports Xinhua news agency.

Crime is another complicating factor following the invasion last week by M23 rebels.

The office said two humanitarian organisations and government entities reported vehicles hijacked over the weekend.

OCHA said aid organisations are assessing the impact of the looting of their warehouses as they try to resume aid deliveries in and around the capital of North Kivu province.

However, the office said economic and other activities are gradually resuming, but schools and banks remain closed in Goma.

OCHA said it joined with relief partners in surveying displacement sites in and around Goma. Initial findings reveal that many camps were looted, destroyed and abandoned. While some people may have returned to their communities or sought refuge elsewhere, many people still lack adequate shelter and access to essential services.

The office said the World Food Programme (WFP) reported that they are prepositioning supplies and are ready to resume their operations as soon as conditions allow.

WFP also said it is strengthening preparedness efforts in neighbouring countries, working with the UN Refugee Agency, the International Organization of Migration and other key partners to develop contingency plans.

“Given the risk of increased displacement, WFP is ensuring readiness in Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, and Tanzania,” the agency said, following fears raised last week of the eastern DRC hostilities erupting into a regional conflict.

OCHA said one out of every four people across the DRC faces acute hunger, including children and pregnant and nursing women. Armed violence, continued conflict, and soaring food prices are key drivers of DRC’s acute food insecurity.

The UN mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) said it is concerned about the reported advance of the rebel M23 armed group toward South Kivu’s capital, Bukavu.

MONUSCO no longer has a mandate from the UN Security Council to take action in South Kivu.

The peacekeeping mission said the M23 rebels are reportedly consolidating their presence in Goma through regular patrols and house searches. Looting and the occupation of private homes by the armed group have been reported, along with attempts to seize vehicles, including those owned by humanitarian organisations, which is against international humanitarian law.

MONUSCO said fighting continues on the outskirts of Minova, in South Kivu and government forces have reinforced their positions in Nyabibwe, 85 km north of Bukavu on Lake Kivu’s western shore.

–IANS

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