Tackling DRC’s Water Crisis
International Water Day is held annually on March 22 as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for sustainable management of freshwater resources. In light of today, The United Nations Environmental Program released a technical report today discussing the water issues in the DRC.
Smart investments needed to tackle drinking water crisis in DR Congo
Kinshasa/Nairobi, 22 March 2011- The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) possesses over half of Africa’s water reserves, yet 74 percent of its population – or approximately 51 million people – lack access to safe drinking water according to a new study by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
The country’s troubled legacy of conflict, environmental degradation, rapid urbanization and under-investment in water infrastructure has seriously affected the availability of drinking water in DRC, although there are positive signs of recovery.
The findings of UNEP’s technical report into the DRC’s acute drinking water crisis and recommended solutions were presented at a World Water Day event in the country’s capital, Kinshasa.
UNEP was among several participants in the event staged by the National Water and Sanitation Committee, which brought together government representatives, development partners, financial institutions, NGOs and researchers to discuss steps to address the DRC’s water challenges.
Speaking at the forum, UNEP’s DRC Programme Manager Hassan Partow said the new UNEP study confirmed that despite recent progress, including water sector reforms, the scale of the challenge meant the DRC simply could not meet its water targets under the United Nations-set Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of reducing by half the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water by 2015. Moreover, to meet national development goals, which are significantly below the MDG water target, the country faces the enormous challenge of supplying an additional 20.3 million people with safe drinking water by 2015.
“Since peace was brokered in 2003, the government has gradually managed to reverse the negative trend in water coverage that has plagued the DRC since its period of conflict and turmoil,” said Mr Partow. “This represents an important achievement which should be applauded.”
“However, the stark reality is that the DRC has one of the fastest urbanisation growth rates in the world and this is not being matched with adequate water and sanitation service delivery,” he added.
Based on extensive fieldwork and stakeholder consultations across the country, the UNEP study found that inadequate water and sanitation delivery in DRC’s rapidly expanding urban centres is due to insufficient, aging and overloaded networks, combined with the degradation of critical water sources and watersheds, such as the Lukunga and N’Djili catchments, which provide millions of people with drinking water in Kinshasa.
These critical peri-urban forested watersheds are being cleared through uncontrolled expansion for housing construction, making home gardens, cultivating crops and producing firewood. Such land development also impacts on water availability in rural areas, where over 90 percent of the population depends on springs located in dense forests.
According to the UNEP study, entitled Water Issues in the Democratic Republic of Congo – Challenges and Opportunities, in addition to major infrastructure improvements, an investment of approximately US$70 million over a five-year period is required to help strengthen the water sector. Such investment should focus on the development of policy and regulatory instruments, data collection, capacity-building, as well as micro-level technological solutions.
UNEP recommends that innovative strategies such as community-managed water supply systems in peri-urban areas and low-cost technical solutions, including communal tap areas and rainwater harvesting, should be promoted and scaled up.
“These steps should enable the water sector to fulfil its critical role in speeding up the DRC’s economic recovery and support the country’s long-term sustainable development,” said Mr Partow.
The water study is part of an ongoing post-conflict environmental assessment of DRC being conducted by UNEP at the request of the national government. Due to be completed later this year, the comprehensive assessment is being carried out in conjunction with the DRC’s Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation and Tourism, and various national and international partners.
The UNEP National Programme Coordinator, Professor Dieudonné Musibono, was also among the speakers at the World Water Day event entitled ‘Anarchic urban expansion in Congolese cities and the challenges of supplying drinking water and sanitation services’.
Notes to Editors
For more information, please contact:
Ms. Silja Halle, Programme Officer on Tel. + 41 (0) 22 917 8441 or Email: silja.halle@unep.org
UNEP Newsdesk / Nairobi on Tel. +254 20 7623088 or Email: unepnewsdesk@unep.org
Full_Report (pdf* format – 6.9 Mbytes)2011 Global Health Metrics & Evaluation Conference
Controversies, Innovation, Accountability
The Global Health Metrics & Evalutation Conference (GHME) is being held this week in Seattle, Washington. The conference aims to bring together all the different disciplines involved in global health measurement and evaluation under one roof to share innovative tools and methods to get a better understanding of what the possibilities are in approaching population health measurement.
Twitter has been buzzing all day with tweets from and about the conference. Check out the conversation on #GHME2011.
GHMEcon tweeted a very valid point from Wendy J. Graham’s talk earlier today on measuring maternal mortality. It particularly caught my attention because it is something IPOP’s Nursery Project has strived toward in the DRC:
Background info on maternal mortality rates:
On the one hand, maternal mortality has decreased globally in recent years. According to a 2010 New York Times article,
For the first time in decades, researchers are reporting a significant drop worldwide in the number of women dying each year from pregnancy and childbirth, to about 342,900 in 2008 from 526,300 in 1980.
The findings, published in the medical journal The Lancet, challenge the prevailing view of maternal mortality as an intractable problem that has defied every effort to solve it…
…The study cited a number of reasons for the improvement: lower pregnancy rates in some countries; higher income, which improves nutrition and access to health care; more education for women; and the increasing availability of “skilled attendants” — people with some medical training — to help women give birth…
…India has made steady progress, and because its population is so large, its improvements have helped considerably to decrease the worldwide rate of maternal deaths…In India, there were 408 to 1,080 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 1980, and by 2008, there were 154 to 395, the new study found.
On the other hand, while countries like India are improving, the DRC continues to struggle. A 2009 article from IRIN reported,
‘Every hour of every day in DRC, four women die from complications of pregnancy and labour, and for every woman who dies, between 20 and 30 have serious complications, such as obstetric fistula, which is very common in DRC,’ said Richard Dackam Ngacthou, country representative of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA). For every 100,000 live births 1,100 women die, he said.
The Nursery Project and Heal Africa’s Safe Motherhood and Micro-Insurance Program are pointing the DRC is the right direction though by establishing an innovative initiative that increases access to health care for birthing mothers.
Birthing mothers are assured that they will get the care they need, traditional birth attendants receive updated training and inclusion in the process of midwifery, and all work in cooperation with the clinics.
The Ponseti Method
IPOP’s Rehabilitation Initiative
Decades of violent conflict in the DRC has left a wake of children with extensive traumatic injuries and untreated congenital disabilities. The congenital disabilities include a prevalence in clubfeet, a common birth defect occurring in about 1 of every 1,000 live births. Clubfoot can involve one foot or both- about 50% of cases affect both. Dr. Bill McAllister, the National Director at CBM UK, said,
When cases are left untreated, conditions are so severe that the patients’ soles are facing the sky as they walk on the dorsum of each foot. Every step is painful.
Not only is it painful, but it also creates a tremendous need for physical therapy that overburdened and undertrained local providers in the DRC struggle to meet. In 2009, IPOP sent 2 physical therapists, Loran Hollander and Laura Keyser, to help.
Loran and Laura were based in Goma, the capital city of the province North Kivu, located in the DRC. They worked with our partner organization Heal Africa to launch the Rehabilitation Initiative, comprised of two projects: intensive training of providers in Goma and nationwide training of the Ponseti Method. Loran and Laura completed an 18-month tour of service in September of 2010, but will return this year to help our partners continue their work. Read one of their updates.
So what exactly is the Ponseti method?
Ben Affleck and the DRC
From Ben Affleck’s testimony earlier…
Vodpod videos no longer available.To Affleck, the Congolese people “simply want to live their life in peace, earn a living and raise a family,” just like people in America and elsewhere. He rejected a common argument that the situation in Congo is too complex for a solution, raising his voice to declare, “It’s not.”
“I humbly suggest that the U.S. government take a hard look at its current commitment and find a way to do more,” Affleck said.
Read More: Ben Affleck tells congressional panel of horrors of Congo
Ben Affleck and the DRC
Update
Ben Affleck and Cindy McCain have been busy in preparation for their testimony today on the DRC in Congress. They interviewed with ABC’s Nightline as well as Good Morning America, discussing their recent trip to Congo as well as their efforts to bring attention to the suffering of the Congolese people. Watch the interviews after the jump. (more…)
2 Days in Goma
Dr. Wanderman Shares His Visit To The Democratic Republic Of Congo
Day 1
I woke up at 6a.m. quickly ate breakfast and headed to the hospital to speak with local doctors, nurses and residents about fluid, electrolytes and dehydration. Many doctors and nurses here already treat dehydration, usually orally using standard solution. Because of this, it was surprising to learn that most of what I presented was new information for them. The presentation took much longer than I expected since I had to teach things I already assumed they would know such as calculating fluid losses, replacement and maintenance of fluids.
After finishing up around 9 a.m. I went to search for Chiza. Chiza is an amazing guy who is very involved in Heal Africa’s efforts. He will be traveling to Masisee (pronounced mah-see-see) in order to help expand one of Heal Africa’s programs dedicated to helping local women who have been victimized by sexual assault or other gender based violence. Heal Africa helps to counsel and train these women at the transit house, a facility created to help women learn a trade and re-enter society as happy and healthy individuals.
I am told Masisee is a couple hours north of Goma out in the ‘bush’. Chiza invited me to join him while visiting so I could see the community health centers and the local hospital. As I learn the whereabouts of Masisee I can’t help but think about an earlier dinner conversation I had where it was mentioned that there is rebel fighting and danger to the north that bounces around, often cropping up in Masisee.
Isn’t it dangerous I ask…? I am quickly informed that no, everything is fine, that currently there are no problems in Masisee. Right after I feel reassured they quickly include that we will probably have to spend the night there because it is not safe to drive back after dark. I give a confused look, and they tell me to call the UN security person in Masisee to make sure all is well. I promptly call and am told that it is safe to travel to that region.
The Nursery Project
Infant Mortality and Neonatal Care in the DRC
The graph to the left compares the Infant Mortality Rate of the the U.S., DRC, and World- this is the number of infants dying before reaching one year of age, per 1,000 live births in a given year. The DRC sits high with 125.8/1,000 in 2009.
On top of these worrisome rates for the DRC, there have been huge numbers of forcibly displaced people who have migrated to Goma from the surrounding conflict-ridden areas of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. This includes an increasing number of pregnant women who come seeking safe shelter and delivery.
In 2008, our partners at Heal Africa felt there was a need to create a dedicated neonatal unit that would benefit its growing population of pregnant women delivering in the hospital. IPOP was asked to assist in establishing such a unit. With collaborative efforts, an old room with broken down medical beds used for storage was slowly transformed into a 10 bed Neonatal Unit complete with bed warmers, monitors, and individual patient charting.
Nursery After:
Most importantly, Heal Africa committed to provide dedicated local Congolese nursing staff to continually care for this fragile population of newly born children. One of IPOP’s earliest volunteers, critical care nurse Jennifer Parson, helped open the unit and spent the first few months there assisting the nurses in developing basic daily protocols for the care of sick newborns.
Since its inauguration, Heal Africa’s neonatal unit has cared for several hundred babies with a variety of diagnoses ranging from low birth weight to prematurity to sepsis to HIV infection. Because of its early successes, the unit has quickly become a regional referral center for neonatal care. As the basic platform to deliver good neonatal care is firmly in place, we anticipate building its capacity over the next several years.
Click here to learn more about Heal Africa’s Safe Motherhood and Micro-Insurance Program, an innovative initiative that increases access to health care for birthing mothers.
Visit our Facebook to see more photos from the Nursery Project.
Rape Of A Nation
Marcus Bleasdale explains how such dire sub-human conditions have come to exist in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country so rich in natural resources. Click the image to watch.
“The warlords have been recruiting child soldiers and in the last 10 years more than 30,000 child soldiers have been recruited in Eastern Congo. Many of whom are still serving now.”
“The displaced in Congo number in the millions. They have no access to any medical care, any healthcare. Sometimes they have to walk for days before they arrive in safety.”
“Over the past years in DRC sexual violence has been an enormous problem. Just in 2007 alone there are 40,000 reported rape cases. It’s happening in every town, in every province.”
“The women, they whisper to you what happened to them because they’re so ashamed of what it was that was committed against them.”
Fact: The Democratic Republic of Congo is gifted with enormous natural resources including diamonds, gold, large amounts of water, cassiterite and coltan. The DRC could and should be a very rich country.
Congo’s Reality: In the past years these natural resources, the very thing that makes this country so unique and valuable, has led to some of the most dangerous and perilous living conditions for Congolese communities. On a daily basis the Congolese are victimized by warlords and their armies of child soldiers and the military that intimidate and rule with their AK47s. Because of the overwhelming frequency of gender based violence and sexual assault, women and families are afraid to leave their homes and remain in constant fear. A lack of general health care and medicine leads to 90% of all deaths in the DRC. Illnesses as simple as Diarrhea, easily cured with a few pills, remain untreated and often result in death.
Our Reality: Those of us that live in developed, privileged areas of the world almost cannot fathom the deadly and horrific conditions that the Congolese people face in their day to day lives. We see the atrocious things happening in the news, we read the words on a page, explaining a world of pain and suffering, yet there is such a large disconnect it almost seems like a lost cause. These are not unsolvable issues, Congo is not a lost cause, we can help.
What You Can Do To Help: Consumers can help simply by knowing where their products are coming from. Next time you visit a jewelery store make sure to ask where the diamonds and gold your looking to purchase comes from. Right now what Congo needs most is education. IPOP and Heal Africa are working together to educate local Congolese in order to spread health care and the use of valuable medicine to cure the thousands that are suffering. Donate.
Marcus Bleasdale also discussed his work in detail at Frontline Club in London.
Vodpod videos no longer available.
Democratic Republic of Congo
A Brief History
The Democratic Republic of Congo has a tumultuous history. Years of civil unrest and violent conflict in the North Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of Congo has resulted in staggering numbers of children with traumatic injuries and undiagnosed congenital disabilities. Part of IPOP’s work has focused on a Rehabilitation Initiative for these children. IPOP has also worked to establish a special-care nursery for the increasing number of pregnant women who come seeking safe shelter and delivery.
On November 15, 1908, King Léopold II of Belgium formally relinquished personal control of what he called the Congo Free State. It became the Belgian Congo under the administration of the Belgian parliament. However, after a series of riots and unrest, the Belgians realized they were in over their heads. The Belgian Congo proved unruly and uncontrollable, leading to its independence on June 30, 1960. It became the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Congolese independence leader Patrice Lumumba was elected as Prime Minister of the DRC. Joseph Kasavubu, a pro-Westerner, was elected president. Despite its new-found independence, the country remained unstable. In December of 1960 Prime Minister Lumumba was arrested. By February 1961 he was murdered and his government was removed suddenly and forcefully in a military coup. The US and Belgium reportedly had complicity in his assassination. The picture to the right shows Patrice Lumumba on the truck that would inevitably carry him to his execution. It was Lumumba’s last photo. (more…)
Breaking News:
Commanding Officer In Democratic Republic Of Congo Faces 20 Year Sentence For Conflict-Related Sexual Violence
Congolese soldiers in green uniforms board a police truck after receiving their sentences in a mass rape trail in the town of Baraka, Democratic Republic of Congo. (Pete Muller/AP)
The International Pediatric Outreach Project has been working directly in The Democratic Republic of Congo, witnessing hate crimes and violence towards women since our start in 2008. The UN Population Fund estimated that at least 8,000 women were raped in eastern Congo in 2009, many by Government soldiers. Soldiers have used rape as a weapon of war to intimidate villages and to recruit children for their armies. The military officials may be arrested and face a few days in jail, but ultimately they are let loose to continue their path of destruction and heartbreak within African communities.
On February 21, 2011, for the first time in Congo’s history, a commanding officer was found guilty of crimes against humanity and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Lt. Col. Kibibi Mutware sent his troops to attack, rape, and loot civilians in the village of Fizi on New Year’s Day. Judges from the military court also tried 10 other soldiers for the attack and mass rape. Three of Mutware’s officers received a 20-year sentence, five received less severe sentences, one officer was acquitted, and one minor will be tried in juvenile court.
Margot Wallstrom, the UN’s Special Representative for Sexual Violence in Conflict, said,
The sentences send a strong signal to all perpetrators in the DRC and beyond that conflict-related sexual violence is not acceptable and will not be tolerated. It also shows that accountability for sexual violence is possible.
IPOP’s partner Heal Africa has worked to build hospitals and strengthen communities for the past 14 years. They also help to heal women that have faced rape and gender-based violence in these communities. Heal Africa not only helps to hospitalize women in their state of the art medical facility in Goma, but they take further initiatives to help build community and long-term support to start a new, healthy life.
International Pediatric Outreach Project 
