DR Congo: Weekly Humanitarian Update (04 - 08 September 2017)

WHO PROVIDES USD 400,000 FOR CHOLERA RESPONSE

In a statement on Saturday, The World Health Organization (WHO) said it has contributed USD 400,000 to fight a cholera epidemic that is reaching worrying proportions in DRC with now 20 of the country’s 26 provinces affected. The country is averaging 1,500 cases per week since the end of July 2017. The disease is affecting major cities of the country, including the capital city Kinshasa. The risk of spreading to Kasai is very high as the health system has been affected by the violence of the past year, WHO said. To date, 24,217 suspected cases with 528 deaths have been reported by government sources. Early August, the Ministry of Public Health set up a program for the elimination of cholera and for the control of other diarrheal diseases. To accompany the Government in this process, WHO has deployed a group of international experts to conduct an emergency response plan.

ITURI: FOOD FOR VICTIMS OF LANDSLIDE IN TARA

The World Food Programme has handed over 26 tons of food and biscuits to a Congolese NGO, AJEDEC, for delivery to some 2,000 people in following the landslide that killed some 30 people in Tara three weeks ago. The NGO is to transport the aid from Tchomia, the nearest town, to Tara. The food is part of the humanitarian plan developed by UN agencies and NGOs that also aims to provide water, sanitation and hygiene, shelter and other basic necessities. The WFP aid also in complement to the assistance provide by the central government. Government authorities have alerted that two other villages, Joo (Mahagi) and Gbi (Djugu), also located on the shores of Lake Albert , are also at risk of landslide. Citing among others economic reasons, residents whose livelihoods depend on fishing have refused to be relocated despite the instruction given by the authorities. Joo and Gbi as well as several other surrounding villages had experienced floods in April and May 2016 that led to over 20 people being killed 15,000 people were affected-and large areas of farmlands were inundated.

MORE THAN 83,000 SOUTH SUDANESE REFUGEES REGISTERED IN HAUT-UÉLÉ AND ITURI PROVINCES IN AUGUST 2017

According to the National Commission for Refugees and UNHCR, about 53% of the refugees consist of women and girls; 63% of children under 18 years. To date, UNHCR has received only USD 6.5 million out of a total of $ 31.8 million for refugee assistance, while it is noted the ongoing climate of insecurity in the southern South Sudan region bordering DRC. This security constraint is delaying the delivery of humanitarian assistance. Meanwhile, due to insecurity, South Sudanese refugees’ sites in the villages of Sukpa, Masombo and Mogoroko are no longer accessible to humanitarian intervention, the refugees are forced to Doruma center to receive assistance.

CATHOLIC RELIEF SERVICES PROVIDED FOOD TO IDPS AT THE NYEMBA SITE, KALEMIE

Some 58 tons of food - maize, flour, beans, oil and salt- were distributed under CRS's "DRIVE" project funded by USAID. The food assistance targeted some 6,000 diplsaced people and those who are returned to their home areas, and represents their first food aid since fleeing community violence in June and July; they received health care assistance a few weeks ago via funding from the CERF. A second phase of food assistance will be provided later this month. This assistance follows a joint OCHA- CRS evaluation in July 2017 on the Nyemba - Kasanga road where the mission found urgent needs in several areas, including food security, health and education.

KASAÏ CENTRAL: PEOPLE START RETURNING HOME, IN TSHIKULA AND DIBAYA, IN DIBAYA TERRITORY

A recently concluded FAO mission in and around the towns of Kananga-Dibaya found out that since mid-August, civilians have been returning to their home areas in Tshikula and Dibaya, Dibaya Territory. In some areas, as much as 80% of the population are estimated to have returned. However, these returnees came back to nothing: their homes have been destroyed, so some have started rebuilding makeshift shelters. Before the crisis, the health zones of Dibaya and Tshikula had some 328, 200 people, (142,800 people in Tshikula and more than 185,500 people in Dibaya). It is estimated that some 1.4 million people are today displaced in the wake of the Kasai crisis.