“Significant challenges” remain

While one stage of the northwest crisis may have been overcome with the massive resettlement, significant challenges remained in the year ahead, the OCHA report said. The acute malnutrition rate among Ruhengeri’s children was 8 percent, chronic malnutrition was 59 percent, lack of understanding about general preventative health care was widespread in the northwest, many people had to travel long distances to fetch water, people had low purchasing power, and inadequate rainfall and tenuous security conditions had hampered agricultural activities. As a result, UN and NGO interventions “remained more vital than ever” to ensure a transition from emergency to development in the northwest, the report added.