Population – 66 million
Internally displaced persons – 1.4 million
Refugee – 132,295 (Angola), 37,313 (Rwanda), 17,777 (Burundi), 13,904 (Uganda), 6,181 (Sudan), 5,243 (Republic of Congo)
Life expectancy – 54 years old
Median age – 16 years old
Infant mortality rate – 83 deaths for every 1,000 live births
Fertility rate – 6.3 children per woman
HIV/AIDS rate – 4 percent
Infectious disease risk – Very high
Literacy rate – 67 percent
A peace accord in 2003 ended a vicious civil war that claimed the lives of more than 3 million people. However, armed conflict has continued in pockets of the country, especially in the east. Severe poverty, insecurity, lack of basic social services and sexual violence all continue to take a heavy toll on children.
The conflict has also produced some of the most horrific cases of sexual and gender-based violence in the world today, with approximately 59,000 women who have reported being raped since 2004. However, this number is likely to be much higher, as many women fear coming forward because they are often ostracized from their communities and forced to abandon their livelihoods
Issues facing children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
*Rates of infant, under-five and maternal mortality are staggering. One in five children dies before reaching the age of five. Mothers die in childbirth in 13 out of every 1,000 deliveries.
*Nearly one third of children are underweight. Malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies are responsible for nearly half of deaths among children under age five.
*Vaccination rates for the most common childhood diseases are approximately 65 per cent.
*Less than half the population has access to a safe source of clean drinking water. Less than one third has access to adequate sanitation facilities.
*The adult HIV/AIDS prevalence rate was 4.2 per cent in 2005, a significant increase from 2004. The rate is believed to be significantly higher in areas of recent armed conflict, where sexual abuse and violence against women was widespread.
*There are over 4 million orphaned children in the country.
*School enrolment rates are declining. More than 4.4 million children (nearly half the school-age population) are not in school. This number includes 2.5 million girls and 400,000 displaced children.
*Child labour is commonplace: More than a quarter of children ages 5 to 14 are working.
What MedCorps is doing:
MedCorp has been working in the DRC since 2004 when we provided emergency medical assistance to refugees and displaced people in the North of the country. The team comprising of 9 international staff and 72 Congolese supports over 20 health facilities and 2 hospitals in North and South Kivu , serving a population of over 250,000 people.
*MedCorps and its partners have provided shelter and household items to 50,000 families affected by armed conflict and/or natural disasters. Safe water and sanitation services were extended to 70,000 people in 2005.
*Some 17 therapeutic feeding centres provided emergency nutrition to more than 30,000 children.
*More than 5,000 survivors of sexual violence received medical care and counselling.
CHW – Educate peers in basic health, such as preventable diseases, including nutrition and safe motherhood
Traditional birth attendants – Help ensure clean, safe deliveries for Congolese mothers and their babies.
We are a U.S. based organization concerned about the welfare of the poor through-out the whole world.
Our Hospital in Jigjiga, Ethiopia