from JEAN KASSONGO in Kinshasa, DRC
DRC Bureau
KINSHASA, (CAJ News) – THE discovery of gold in the volatile eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has triggered a population boom and exposed the region to a renewed cholera scourge.
Lomera, the lakeside village in the province of South Kivu is the epicenter of the gold rush after the precious metal was discovered in its hills last December.
This coincided with a takeover of the Kivu region by rebel groups, although unrelated to the mineral rush.
Doctors Without Borders (or Médecins Sans Frontières, MSF) reports that during the period of the discovery of gold and the rush to mine the metal, the population of Lomera has ballooned from 1 500 to more than 12 000.
That equates to a population increase of 700 percent in half a year.
Some 109 cases of cholera have been reported, up by a similar percentage over the period.
“Everything that could possibly fuel a cholera outbreak is here,” lamented Mathilde Cilley, MSF project medical representative.
“We’re seeing severe overcrowding, barely any clean water, open defecation on the hills, and a total lack of waste management.”
MSF is concerned at the mushrooming of mineshafts and makeshift shelters as more people arrive, crowding into already packed shelters.
Cholera, the water borne disease, is endemic in the eastern part of DRC.
“Without significant investment in water, sanitation, and hygiene infrastructure, outbreaks like this are likely to persist on a regular basis,” said Muriel Boursier, MSF’s head of mission in Bukavu.
Bukavu is the provincial capital, more than 2 200km from the capital Kinshasa.
Boursier noted the cholera scourge in Bukavu came at a time South Kivu—and eastern DRC were facing major logistical hurdles in getting essential medical supplies, including vaccines, medicines and equipment.
Insecurity caused by clashes between the M23/Congo River ALLIANCE AFC armed group and the Congolese army as well as their respective militias are perpetrators.
Minerals-rich DRC also suffers intermittent outbreaks of Ebola and measles.
– CAJ News