Victims of Mbandaka floods in need of aid

About 5,000 victims of November's heavy rainfall and floods in Mbandaka, the largest town in of Equateur Province, northern Democratic Republic of the Congo, are in need of aid, the UN reported on Wednesday. About 900 families had been displaced by the floods and were currently living in temporary shelters, the UN said. Two camps have been erected in the Mbandaka area and a third is being built. "Many of the victims of the floods are sleeping in the open, because there is still a shortage of shelter. Even if people could afford to rent homes, there are not enough," said Therese Mbuaya, a field humanitarian assistant and head of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Mbandaka. International aid organisations have distributed tents, plastic sheeting, food, and medicines and have built latrines and showers. Despite this. However, scabies, malaria, respiratory infections and malnutrition remain the most prevalent ailments affecting the displaced. It was anticipated that the families would remain in the camps until mid-March, when the floods would have receded and the displaced would be able to go home, the UN reported. "The challenge now is to create a system where these families do not become destitute with every flood, and in general to bring greater food security to the area."