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DR Congo

Democratic Republic of the Congo: Violence Against Health Care in Conflict 2021

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On October 28, 2021 suspected Cooperative for the Economic Development of Congo (CODECO) rebels ambushed an international health organization vehicle traveling in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Ituri province with five health workers on board. Two staff sustained gunshot injuries. Following the ambush, the organization temporarily suspended its activities in the Bambu health zone to protect staff, patients, and assets from further violence.

OVERVIEW

The Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition (SHCC) identified 127 incidents of violence against or obstruction of health care in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in 2021, compared to 81 incidents in 2020.

Vital medical supplies were looted, 35 health workers were kidnapped, 28 arrested, and 26 others injured in these incidents.

This factsheet is based on the dataset 2021 SHCC DRC Health Data, which is available for download on the Humanitarian Data Exchange (HDX).