More than 200 health facilities in war-hit eastern Congo have run out of medicines due to widespread looting and supply chain disruptions during fighting this year, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Wednesday.
The finding is part of a survey conducted last month of 240 health centres and clinics in North and South Kivu provinces.
It is the largest such assessment the ICRC has carried out since a lightning advance by Rwanda-backed M23 rebels spurred fighting that has killed thousands.
Nearly nine out of 10 surveyed facilities were fully out of medicines.
Staff shortages affected 40% of facilities covered by the survey, 13% were completely nonfunctional and "many" reported consistent supply shortages going back to January, when M23 seized Goma, the largest city in the region.
Rwanda has long denied backing M23 and says its forces act in self-defense. But a group of U.N. experts said in a report in July that Kigali exercised command and control over the rebels.
The healthcare crisis has reached "a critical point" with armed conflict intensifying as humanitarian funding drops, said Francois Moreillon, head of the ICRC delegation in Democratic Republic of Congo.
The ICRC warned that the lives of residents are "at immediate risk" as malaria, HIV, tuberculosis, and other diseases go untreated.
Amani Habimana, a resident of Ruke town in Masisi territory in North Kivu province, was shot in the thigh while caught up in fighting between M23 combatants and a local militia.
Her family took her to multiple hospitals where doctors said they did not have the necessary supplies to treat her broken femur. She finally reached the city of Beni nearly two months after the shooting occurred.
Samson Muhindo Kalumbi, who works for the ICRC at the general hospital in Beni, said such cases were common, with many patients who struggle to find care ultimately arriving in Beni with infected wounds.
"We are losing many limbs due to the distance and the delay in accessing care," he said.
The ICRC on Wednesday called on all parties to ensure the safe passage of health workers in the war-hit regions, which would help alleviate staff shortages.
M23 and Congo's government did not immediately respond to requests for comment on ICRC's findings.
More than 2,000 people gathered in San Diego this week for funeral prayers honouring three men killed while trying to stop an attack at the Islamic...
CIS governments meeting in Ashgabat have endorsed a regional transport integration plan and advanced proposals to modernise heavy industry, highlig...
As the 13th edition of the World Urban Forum ended, Azerbaijan's Pavilion ...
Fighting in the Russia–Ukraine war has intensified sharply, with both sides launching significant strikes...
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said negotiations with Iran remain deadlocked over uranium enrichment and the ...
CIS governments meeting in Ashgabat have endorsed a regional transport integration plan and advanced proposals to modernise heavy industry, highlighting a growing focus on overland trade routes and economic resilience.
As the 13th edition of the World Urban Forum ended, Azerbaijan's Pavilion showcased reconstruction efforts in its liberated territories and foregrounded the importance of mine removal in resettlement efforts.
Fighting in the Russia–Ukraine war has intensified sharply, with both sides launching significant strikes far beyond the front lines as the conflict enters its 1,549th day.
A Turkish court has effectively removed the main opposition leader, Özgür Özel, in a ruling that has deepened political tensions and rattled financial markets.
Asian stocks surged on Thursday as some vessels resumed passage through the Strait of Hormuz, while forecast-beating results at Nvidia and a suspended workers' strike at Samsung Electronics lifted shares of chipmakers.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has said Belarus will not be dragged into the war in Ukraine, while also stressing that Minsk and Moscow would jointly respond to any aggression against them.
Fighting in the Russia–Ukraine war has intensified sharply, with both sides launching significant strikes far beyond the front lines as the conflict enters its 1,549th day.
The penultimate day of the World Urban Forum 13 in Baku will see Azerbaijan's Pavilion highlight post-construction efforts in Garabagh and East Zangezur, as well as host events on the future of Baku and architectural education.
As the 13th edition of the World Urban Forum ended, Azerbaijan's Pavilion showcased reconstruction efforts in its liberated territories and foregrounded the importance of mine removal in resettlement efforts.
A luxury polar expedition vessel linked to a hantavirus outbreak has arrived in Rotterdam, where health authorities have placed the final 27 people on board into quarantine and have begun containment measures.
Medical teams are being rushed to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) following a fast-moving Ebola outbreak that has already caused dozens of suspected deaths and raised fears of wider regional spread.
The World Health Organisation’s designation of the Bundibugyo Ebola virus outbreak as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) is a stark reminder that Ebola remains a persistent global health threat rather than a disease of the past.
The risk from hantavirus to the general public remains very low, and the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has more than 100 staff members actively working on the outbreak, a governmental health official said on Wednesday.
A Dutch hospital has quarantined 12 staff members as a preventive measure after blood and urine from a hantavirus patient were handled without observing strict protocols, according to officials, as medics around the world work to stop the spread of the outbreak.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment