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OVERVIEW
The Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition (SHCC) identified 125 incidents of violence against or obstruction of health care in the DRC in 2022, a similar number to 127 in 2021. At least 50 health workers were kidnapped. Health supplies were looted and health centers set on fire, impacting health care providers’ ability to maintain safe staffing levels and stock health facilities with the necessary supplies. This factsheet is based on the dataset 2022 SHCC Health Care DRC Data, which is available for download on the Humanitarian Data Exchange (HDX).
THE CONTEXT
Increased violence by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), the resurgent March 23 Movement (M23), and local Mai-Mai militias affected health workers and facilities in northeastern DRC. Threats and violence by local Mai-Mai militias impacted health care providers in Maniema, North and South Kivu, and Tanganyika provinces. Armed responses by Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) and police forces to combat violence by armed groups affected health care in northeastern DRC. Such violence harmed health workers and widespread insecurity led to the closure of health facilities, which affected people’s access to health care.
VIOLENCE AGAINST OR OBSTRUCTION OF HEALTH CARE IN 2022
Incidents were reported in eight of the DRC’s 26 provinces, with nearly half occurring in North Kivu, a similar trend to previous years. High numbers continued in South Kivu and Ituri, as well as Maniema and Tanganyika.
Most incidents affected staff working for the national health structure, with six reported as directly affecting INGOs or LNGOs, four of these in South Kivu. One incident directly affected the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Kasai. Health worker killings halved in 2022, from 22 in 2021 to 10.