Search
  1. Home
  2. Africa
  3. DRC

12 dead, 337 ill in Bunia cholera epidemic

Country Map - DRC (Bunia) IRIN
This most recent round of armed hostilities followed the weekend theft and destruction of some 300,000 doses of various vaccines
    KINSHASA

    At least 12 people have died and 337 are infected in a cholera epidemic in Bunia, Ituri District, northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, where rival ethnic militias have bee fighting for control.

    "These figures should drop following the intervention of health teams," Doudou Luemba of the UN Children's Fund's (UNICEF) emergency department, told IRIN on Thursday.

    The agency, which provided these figures, reported the epidemic to have been running for three months now. It had been triggered by "the sabotage" in August of a water installation point, which had now been repaired.

    UNICEF and other humanitarian agencies have continued to provide the affected area with aid. UNICEF has rented an aircraft to deliver 89 mt of non-food items, water purification materials, and medicines to fight the epidemic in Bunia. UNICEF employees in the eastern part of the country have been sent to the affected areas to supervise emergency aid distributions. Some humanitarian bodies have reported difficulty in reaching people in need of help.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

    Share this article

    Our ability to deliver compelling, field-based reporting on humanitarian crises rests on a few key principles: deep expertise, an unwavering commitment to amplifying affected voices, and a belief in the power of independent journalism to drive real change.

    We need your help to sustain and expand our work. Your donation will support our unique approach to journalism, helping fund everything from field-based investigations to the innovative storytelling that ensures marginalised voices are heard.

    Please consider joining our membership programme. Together, we can continue to make a meaningful impact on how the world responds to crises.

    Become a member of The New Humanitarian

    Support our journalism and become more involved in our community. Help us deliver informative, accessible, independent journalism that you can trust and provides accountability to the millions of people affected by crises worldwide.

    Join