“The whole health system is really under pressure,” WHO senior emergency officer Jorge Castilla told the press.
He noted that the current violence, fueled by armed groups, has seen a sharp increase in forced displacement, leaving around 7.4 million people in need of medical care.
Since March 2022, nearly three million people have had to leave their homes in the east of the country, in the provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri, and illnesses have spread.
He stressed that the country’s healthcare system is under tremendous pressure due to the overlapping outbreaks of Covid-19, measles, polio and smallpox.
Yellow fever, cholera and malaria are also on the rise as natural disasters keep happening and people fleeing do not have access to clean drinking water and sanitation facilities.
WHO data shows that this country has registered an average of 1,000 cholera cases per week since mid-March and as of June 12 had reported a total of 24,562 infected cases and 156 deaths.
Add to this the impact of flooding earlier in the year, which killed and injured hundreds and affected 36 health facilities in North Kivu, South Kivu, Kasai and Tshopo provinces, further increasing health needs.
Attacks by armed groups on health facilities have also impacted the ability to provide health care.
Castilla added that hunger and malnutrition are increasing, forcing some of the displaced to sporadically return to their home areas just to survive, exposing them to even more violence, mental disorders and psychosocial stress.
In addition, about 26 million people are affected by acute food insecurity this year, the highest number in the world, while children under five, pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers are severely affected by acute malnutrition.
The WHO reported that of the $174 million needed to provide urgent health assistance, only $23 million has been mobilized so far.
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