Dear partners/colleagues,
Please find attached our latest inter-agency weekly information bulletin “Humanitarian Action in the DRC” as of 14 October 2011, which is also pasted below for your convenience.
HIGHLIGHTS/ KEY PRIORITIES
· 16,365 cholera cases of which 467 deceased reported in DRC since January
· Protection of civilians remains of high concern amid overgrowing insecurity in eastern DRC
· UNHCR to distribute NFI kits to over 12,500 people in 21 IDP camps in North Kivu
· Malnutrition overtakes malaria as the main cause of mortality for children under 5 in Province Orientale
To receive a weekly roundup of humanitarian news in DRC, please contact:
§ Yvon Edoumou (edoumou@un.org, +243 970 003 750)
§ Medard Lobota (lobota@un.org, +243 992 906 633)
§ Sylvestre Ntumba Mudingayi (ntumbamudingayi@un.org, +243 998 845 386)
All our documents are also available on our inter-agency humanitarian website for the DRC (http://www.rdc-humanitaire.net) as well as on ReliefWeb (http://www.reliefweb.int).
With best regards.
------------------------
Médard I. Lobota
HIS Senior Liaison Officer
Humanitarian Information Service - HIS
United Nations Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs - UNOCHA
Kinshasa/D.R.Congo
Tel. +243 (0) 99 290 66 33 / +243 (0) 81 000 6754
Website: www.rdc-humanitaire.net
Humanitarian Action in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
Weekly Bulletin, 14 October 2011
Produced with the support of the Humanitarian Information Group (HIG)
HIGHLIGHTS/ KEY PRIORITIES
· 16,365 cholera cases of which 467 deceased reported in DRC since January
· Protection of civilians remains of high concern amid overgrowing insecurity in eastern DRC
· UNHCR to distribute NFI kits to over 12,500 people in 21 IDP camps in North Kivu
· Malnutrition overtakes malaria as the main cause of mortality for children under 5 in Province Orientale
General Overview
· Restricted access to vulnerable population in eastern DRC due to insecurity, especially in North Kivu and South Kivu, is negatively impacting on the humanitarian situation. In northern North Kivu, fighting between the DRC National Army (FARDC) and armed groups pushes civilians to flee their villages and makes them more vulnerable as they are living in areas that have limited access for humanitarian actors. In South Kivu, armed groups attacked at least eight humanitarian vehicles in the past few weeks and a World Health Organization (WHO) immunization campaign against polio in Uvira risks to be compromised due to insecurity. Six health centres in Uvira Territory have already closed as staffs have fled to Uvira Centre to escape insecurity. In the build-up of elections, there are risks that the situation worsens and leaves hundred of thousands of vulnerable populations without much needed assistance.
Population Movements
· Province Orientale: The Rapid Response to Population Movements (RRMP) program reports the displacement of around 13,000 people in the last three months in Yakoko village (Territory of Opala). These IDPs moved following the repression against a religious sect in late July by the FARDC. According to a RRMP evaluation report, there are another 11,000 households (around 55,000 people), of which returnees and host families, who need assistance in shelter, food, non food items (NFI), protection and education. Unfortunately bad roads limit humanitarian access to Yakoko and many other areas of Opala Territory.
· Following improvement of the security situation in some localities of Shabunda Territory in South Kivu, NGOs report a progressive return of IDPs. According to ADSSE, around 1,250 IDPs have so far returned to the south-west of Shabunda Centre. However, other civilians are still fleeing their villages within Shabunda Territory due to the activism of the Rwandan rebel group FDLR and local Mayi-Mayi militias.
Protection of civilians
· Armed groups continue to attack villages, to loot houses and to commit different abuses against civilians in the Territory of Irumu (Ituri District) in Province Orientale. Meanwhile, in Djugu Territory, intercommunity clashes occurred following land disputes. At least 120 houses were burnt down. This incident is the second to occur within a month in Djugu Territory. The persisting displacement of populations due to insecurity amplifies the tensions over land control that already exist.
Humanitarian Needs and Response
Food Security and Livelihoods
· The World Food Program (WFP) provided 22 tones of food to 21 health centres in Dungu and Faradje (Haut Uele District) in Province Orientale to assist 2,365 moderately malnourished children, 313 pregnant and breastfeeding women, and 50 caretakers. In Dungu Territory (Ituri District), Caritas and ADSSE – operational partners of WFP – distributed 92.5 tones of food to 5,022 vulnerable people in the localities of Kiliwa, Limayi and Ndedu.
· 3,270 returnee households of Buabo and Nyamaboko sites in Masisi Territory (North Kivu) received farming tools and 165.5 kg of garden seeds from the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) to improve food security in the areas of return. FAO provided the assistance through DIOBAS, a local NGO working in the area. On October 02, FAO handed cassava processing units to three organizations that host 77 demobilized soldiers in Masisi and Walikale Territories.
Health
· From January 01 to October 11, a total of 16,365 cholera cases of which 467 deceased have been reported in DRC according to a joint DRC Ministry of Health and WHO report. Out of 11 provinces, only three – Bas Congo, Kasai Occidental and Kasai Oriental – have not reported any case. The number of cholera cases in four provinces that are going through an epidemic (Bandundu, Equateur, Kinshasa and Province Orientale) has reached 7,008 with an average lethality rate of 6%. Limited access to clean water remains one of the major factors in the persistence of the water-borne disease.
· According to Buta Health District Authorities (Bas Uele District) in Province Orientale, malnutrition has overtaken malaria as the main cause of mortality among under-five children. A nutrition mapping study is planned with the support of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and WFP.
Nutrition
· Following a workshop to analyze the nutrition issue in the Equateur Province, UNICEF and the National Nutrition Program (PRONANUT) recommend urgent actions against malnutrition throughout the province. The workshop took place following a nutritional screening organized in April that revealed a global acute malnutrition rate of over 10% (MAG > 10%). Malnutrition and food insecurity are among main humanitarian issues in non conflict zone in the DRC.
Protection
· To reinforce community based efforts against Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV), the German International Cooperation (GIZ) and the NGO Search for Common Ground organized a workshop in Uvira (South Kivu) on the role of the Police in children protection and the prevention of SGBV. At the end of the workshop, participants mostly community leaders such as local authorities, local churches leaders, civil society members and heads of local NGOs signed an engagement to promote human rights and the fight against SGBV. SGBV is one of the main protection of civilians’ issues in South Kivu.
· South Kivu: NGO “Fondation Solidarités des Hommes” (FSH) concluded on October 11 a series of workshops aiming to elaborate a Minimum Assistance Package (MAP) for the economic reinsertion of victims of sexual violence. FSH argued that many of reinsertion projects fail as they do not take into account opportunities offered by the local markets. These workshops which brought together participants from international and national NGOs, and the United Nations Agencies, aim to put in place a reference tool for actors working on economic reinsertion of SGBV victims.
Shelter and non-food items (NFI)
· The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), in collaboration with the shelter and NFI cluster, started on October 04 the distribution of basic commodities’ kits to 12,570 IDP households living in 26 IDP camps in the Province of North Kivu. Moreover, some 3,428 households displaced within Birambizo Health Zone will benefit of canvas covers as part of the same operation that will last up to the end of October. As of September 30, around 75,000 IDPs are still living in 31 camps coordinated by the UNHCR in North Kivu.
