FAST FACTS
- Early in the morning on January 27, the rebel militia group M23 occupied Goma, the capital city of North Kivu province in eastern DRC.
- This escalation of violence began on January 25, and included cutting off key supply routes into major cities, including Goma, Minova and Saké, and denying access to resources, especially to water, electricity and online services.
- More than 400,000 IDPs were already housed in makeshift camps in and around Goma, living in dire conditions without access to adequate shelter, food, sanitation or healthcare. This newest offensive has ignited new waves of people fleeing the conflict.
- Hospitals in Goma are already overwhelmed with people injured by the conflict. Human resources, medical and surgical supplies, pharmaceuticals and blood for transfusions are critically limited.
- North Kivu has been plagued by conflict since the 1990s, with the first and second Congolese civil wars, followed by decades of instability and violence.
OUR RESPONSE
- International Medical Corps has been responding in the DRC since 1999, with a base in Goma.
- International Medical Corps provides mobile medical unit support in Goma and Minova, ensuring access to health and protection services for IDPs.
- We also have been providing Goma and Minova, as well as the Karisimbi health zone surrounding Goma, with mpox-related infection prevention and control services and training.