MSF is currently working in Dingila, Doruma, Dungu, Duru, Faradje, and Niangara, in the Haut-Uélé and Bas-Uélé districts of northern Democratic Republic of Congo providing over 9,000 medical consultations a month in hospitals and health centres. MSF has also distributed relief items to some 16,000 people displaced by violence, as well as vaccinations and mental health support. Today there are 27 international staff working alongside 140 Congolese colleagues in the MSF projects.
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MSF activities in northern districts of the DRC
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Haut-Uélé district
Dungu
From June to September, MSF conducted 2,800 outpatient consultations in the two health centres it supports in Namboli and Lipay, in the Dungu area of Haut-Uélé district. The majority of the patients coming for consultation were treated for malaria, diarrhoea, and respiratory infections.
In Dungu hospital, supported by MSF, medical teams carried out 300 surgeries, provided care for 100 severe malnourished children and for another 220 children with a variety of conditions and diseases.
Since August, MSF has also worked in the reproductive health and the maternity departments of the hospital where sexually transmitted infections are another common pathology.
MSF also provided psychological support for 88 patients who had suffered from violence, of whom six had been victims of sexual violence.
In August, MSF started a measles vaccination campaign targeting 20,000 children aged 6six months to 14 years old, with a vitamin A supplementation.
In Dungu, MSF monitors the movements of displaced people in order to ensure they can provide humanitarian assistance to them.
National staff: 80
International staff: 7
Doruma
Doruma, a town located on the border with Sudan, is at the heart of a very insecure area. The population of Doruma and the 12,000 displaced people who have fled there are at risk during the current ‘hunger season’, as it is too dangerous for them to go to their fields and tend to their crops.
MSF supports the four health centres in Doruma, where 2,500 outpatient consultations have been carried out this year. MSF also supports the hospital in Doruma, where 94 patients were hospitalised in September.
In addition, the MSF team distributed plastic sheeting, blankets, mosquito nets and jerry cans to 2,560 families.
In October, MSF extended the scope of its activities in the hospital to begin providing mental health support, treatment for sleeping sickness, in addition to support for the surgical and maternity wards and assisting with water and sanitation.
National staff: 11
International staff: 4
Niangara
Niangara, Haut-Uélé, is the main town at the crossroads leading to the Central African Republic and southern Sudan. Around 11,000 displaced people have now arrived in the town, having fled from violence.
MSF is supporting the main referral hospital in Niangara, in addition to Wawé health centre, three kiliometers from the town.
Since the start of MSF activities there five months ago, medical teams have carried out more than 11,300 consultations at the general hospital and 3,000 patient consultations in Wawé health centre.
Every month, around 32 new patients are hospitalised in Niangara. The main diseases MSF treats there are malaria, acute respiratory infections, sexually transmitted infections and stress-related diseases.
MSF teams put a psycho-social programme in place to help the local population cope with the trauma and stress of the continuous violence and displacement. Between June and early October, 72 patients had received medical and psychological help for violence in that programme.
In early October, MSF sent two teams into communities to raise awareness among the population about the fact that the care provided is free and essential.
National staff: 29
International staff: 6
Faradje
Following numerous attacks in December 2008, MSF started to provide medical and psychological care in Faradje, Haut-Uélé.
MSF opened a project aimed at assisting the children who had been abducted by armed men and then either escaped or were released. In the first five months, 114 children were assisted by MSF through a psychological support project.
MSF is also supporting a hospital, where approximately 11,000 patients have received consultations and 900 patients were hospitalised for secondary level care - maternity, paediatric, surgery or internal medicines. The main diseases treated are malaria, intestinal parasites and skin infections.
National staff: 16
International staff: 2
Bas-Uélé district
Dingila
Dingila area, in the Bas-Uélé district, has become a key destination for displaced people fleeing the areas of Banda and Dakwa. About 16,000 people have been displaced by violence and have sought refuge in the Dingila area.
In July, the MSF team distributed essential basic items, such as plastic sheeting, blankets, mosquito nets and jerry cans to these people.
In early September, MSF began to support the town’s hospital, plus two health centres (Nzongolia and Bambili), with a particular focus on providing care to victims of violence.
Based in Dingila, the MSF team remains ready to fly to areas of the region, in order to respond to medical emergencies as a result of attacks.
