Merlin's medical teams are delivering essential drugs to clinics cut off by recent violence in North Kivu in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. In some cases this is the first humanitarian aid they have received in months.
The humanitarian situation has sharply deteriorated in North Kivu following renewed fighting between rebel and army forces. In south Lubero, a remote area in the centre of North Kivu, at least 40,000 people have fled their homes in recent weeks to escape pillaging and violence by armed groups. Many had only arrived a few weeks earlier after fleeing fighting in neighbouring Walikale territory.
The displaced and local populations are in desperate need of assistance, but humanitarian access has been hampered by the insecurity, with some areas inaccessible for the last two months.
In one of the worst incidents reported to date, rebels from the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) set fire to more than 365 homes in the towns of Luofo and Kasiki last weekend, killing eight people, including five children. The local population is expecting the situation to worsen, with the FDLR committing similar acts in surrounding areas.
A Merlin team managed to reach Luofo on Wednesday to assess needs and re-stock health clinics with essential medicines and medical materials.
18,000 people in urgent need of assistance
The team found at least 18,000 people in urgent need of assistance in Luofo, with many more hiding in the surrounding area. Most of these people had only recently arrived in the area having fled fighting elsewhere. Some are sheltering in schools and churches, but the majority are sleeping outdoors.
Kasereka Muhamira, Merlin's Nurse Supervisor in Luofo says: "The humanitarian situation has become critical. Everyone is leaving their homes to go and sleep in the forest, to hide from the rebels. They are not able to access food as they are too scared to go to their gardens. The need for medicines and medical care is clearly visible. But what people say they need the most is to feel secure."
The health centre in Luofu has seen a three-fold increase in people coming for treatment since the incident, with the most common illnesses including gastro-enteritis, diarrhoea, and physical trauma. However, the centre was looted during the FDLR attack, and lacked essential medical equipment and materials, such as clean delivery kits for women giving birth.
The FDLR also cut off Luofo's water system, limiting the population's access to clean drinking water, and latrines were also destroyed. Health, water and sanitation, food and shelter are now urgent priorities.
With the latest surge in violence, UNHCR estimates there are now almost a million people in North Kivu who have been driven from their homes, including 250,000 in the last three months alone.