Cholera reaches epidemic level in Katanga

A cholera outbreak in the southern Katanga region of southeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has reached an epidemic level, humanitarian sources contacted by IRIN on Tuesday said. The sources said more than 4,600 cases had been reported since the beginning of November, with about 400 deaths in the southern Katanga region. Although cholera has been endemic in this region, there has been an increase in the past three weeks, bringing it to an epidemic level, information received by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Kinshasa indicated. The DRC health minister, humanitarian agencies, including the UN Children's Fund, the World Health Organisation, OCHA, and international organisations such as Action Contre la Faim (ACF), Medecins Sans Frontieres-France, Medecins Sans Frontieres-Belgium (MSF-B), the US Agency for International Development and the European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office, and also the local Methodist church, supported by other donors, had been mobilising support and assisting in the area since last week, OCHA said. "The situation is not yet under complete control, but it is getting better. The number of deaths is on the decrease, especially in Lubumbashi [southern Katanga]," a humanitarian worker told IRIN. Medical assistance and sensitisation campaigns had been put in place by the DRC health minister and governors in the affected region, with six commissions set up by the authorities to deal with the outbreak, the source added. The main zones affected by the current epidemic are Kinkondja, Kapolowe, Kikula, Dilala and Bukama, which are all in southern Katanga. A source told IRIN that of 34 health zones under the control of the government, 19 were affected. An aircraft carrying 21 mt of humanitarian assistance, including medical kits, food and relevant equipment and material provided by the health ministry, the World Food Programme and MSF-B, would be dispatched to Lubumbashi on Wednesday, the source said. "OCHA is facilitating the transportation of the assistance. The Humanitarian Coordinator and OCHA senior staff members will accompany the assistance," the source added. Katanga Province is divided into two. The southern part, whose provincial headquarters is Lubumbashi, is controlled by the government, while the northern part is held by the Rwandan-backed Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD-Goma) armed opposition movement.