MSF to send four cargo planes of relief aid to Bunia

International NGO Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) announced on Friday that it was sending four cargo planes of emergency relief goods to Bunia, the main town of the volatile Ituri District in northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The plans will carry a total of 50 mt of relief goods, including emergency food (high-energy biscuits, therapeutic powder milk and "plumpy nuts", an enriched food supplement), rolls of plastic sheeting for shelters and material to set up a therapeutic feeding centre for up to 500 severely malnourished children. On 4 July, MSF had warned of a lack of essential supplies to help thousands of displaced people returning to Bunia. In a statement issued in Bunia, MSF said it had set up a medical screening post for families returning to the town at one point of entry, where first aid was being provided and patients requiring urgent care were referred to the MSF hospital. MSF workers said the returnees were exhausted, many ill and wounded, while many children were suffering from severe malnutrition. "On top of the families returning to Bunia, more families keep on arriving from surrounding villages in search of some protection and assistance," MSF said. "They are fleeing sporadic fighting and constant insecurity," the agency said. "Their numbers are increasing every day and their health and nutritional status require urgent medical assistance. MSF still has no access to these areas outside of Bunia town." MSF said that since mid-May, it had been running a 70-bed emergency hospital with surgical capacity in Bunia. The MSF team in Bunia comprises 10 expatriate workers and 104 local employees, of whom 42 are medical professionals.