Thursday, July 09, 2009

First 6 months of 2009 for MSF- France Congo

I often communicate what is happening in my life and job, but here is a summary of what MSF-France really does in the North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo:

There is a bit less violence this year, but still quite a bit. The variation is feeble, even though the political context has improved. Our approach and positioning in the region seems to be good, although we question the pertinence of one of our programs - questions which will be analysed for a decision by the end of July.

Good news: fewer epidemics this year. MSF and the other non-governmental organizations are much more reactive in following outbreaks than in the past, and we have developed a strategy of lobbying so that the central authorities and humanitarian groups are notified as soon as a medical situation is noticed among the displaced populations. Another factor is that we performed a large vaccination program in 2008 against measles. Also, in 2008 there were many spontaneously created camps in the regions where no humanitarian actors were present to assist in developing sanitation systems. These camps are perfect breeding grounds for epidemics. These camps no longer exist.

To summarize our activities for the first 6 months of 2009:
1936 cases of sexual violence treated
233 injuries due to conflicts received in out-patient clinics and emergency rooms
572 surgical acts for wounds due to conflicts
320 cases of cholera treated
14 cases of measles treated
38 cases of meningitis treated.

And our biggest activity consists of 110,254 medical consultations in our mobile clinics (setting up where needed) and out-patient facilities.