The World Health Organization and Africa CDC have launched a joint $518 million emergency response plan to contain the growing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and nearby countries. The six-month initiative aims to strengthen disease control efforts and reduce the risk of further transmission across affected regions. The programme will run from […]
DR Congo
DR Congo end 52-year World Cup absence amid health, security crises
Democratic Republic of Congo will return to the World Cup in June after a 52-year absence as the vast central Africa nation reels from health and security crises. A deadly Ebola outbreak in the east of the country had recorded 10 confirmed and 223 suspected deaths by May 24. The Geneva-based World Health Organisation (WHO) […]
Uganda confirms new Ebola cases linked to DR Congo
Three new Ebola cases have been confirmed in Uganda, health authorities said Saturday, after the World Health Organization raised the risk from the deadly outbreak to the highest level for neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo. The new cases bring to five the total confirmed in Uganda since the current outbreak was discovered in the east […]
Pakistan tightens airport monitoring amid Ebola surge in Africa
The government of Pakistan has strengthened surveillance measures at airports across the country following a rise in Ebola cases in Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, health officials said. Read More: Flight operations to resume from Sialkot airport to ME destinations According to the Ministry of Health, enhanced screening and monitoring procedures have been implemented as […]
Targeting infidel ‘crusaders’: DR Congo’s dreaded ADF militia
Mado was worshipping at an evangelical church in the town of Ndalya in February when her life changed forever. Gunmen burst in, killed her two-month-old daughter at point-blank range, ordered her to leave the baby’s body on the ground and follow them out along with the other worshippers. The young woman had become a hostage […]
UN official blasts violence against Ebola teams in DR Congo
The UN special representative to DR Congo has blasted rumours that the world body was trying to cash in on an Ebola epidemic that has claimed more than 1,000 lives. Leila Zerrougui, head of the UN mission to the sprawling central African nation, on Friday visited the eastern city of Butembo where she slammed as […]
Idjwi, a haven of peace in DR Congo’s conflict-ridden east
Luc Henkinbrant fought against the impunity of war criminals in the conflict-ridden east of the Democratic Republic of Congo for a decade. Now the Belgian former UN human rights official dreams of turning the Lake Kivu island of Idjwi into a magnet for ecotourists. He and his Congolese wife Esperance Mawanzo divide their time between […]
Tea factory struggles on amid clashes in east DR Congo
The view at 2,000 metres (6,500 feet) is idyllic, but it comes with an invisible, mortal threat. “Everything around the factory is controlled by armed groups,” warns Joseph Kitsa. He watches over a tea processing plant which, with venerable equipment and heroic commitment, survives in the highlands of one of Africa’s most troubled locations — […]
Security issues dominate Tshisekedi’s first tour of DR Congo after election
Before his disputed electoral victory in December, DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi promised the people of troubled North Kivu province that he would crack down on rebel and militia groups that terrorise the region. But three months after taking power in a vote mired by fraud allegations, Tshisekedi has struggled to take decisive action. Hamstrung […]
People skills at heart of DR Congo’s long fight against Ebola
Evelyne was one of the first victims of the Ebola epidemic which broke out in eastern DR Congo last August, the second deadliest in its known history. Against the odds, the nurse not only survived the haemorrhagic virus, whose outbreak has claimed nearly 700 lives, but has also returned to the fray. After receiving a […]