Congo, Democratic Republic of the
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Unprecedented bed net campaign under way in DR Congo
KISANGANI, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1 October 2009 – Mikala Mobanda’s four-year-old son has been suffering from fever and lack of appetite for several days. He is lethargic and complains of pain. In this area of DR Congo’s Province Orientale – where malaria is endemic and nearly every child will contract it – there is little doubt of the diagnosis.
Low enrolment rates prompt efforts to invest in education in DR Congo
KINSASHA, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1 September 2009 – Low attendance rates continue to plague DR Congo’s schools, adversely affecting the country’s development.
UNICEF Executive Director hears stories of hope amidst conflict in eastern DR Congo
BUKAVU, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 31 August 2009 – The deep, ongoing problems facing women and children in eastern DR Congo have been highlighted during the visit by UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman.
Children and families in DR Congo face multiple crises
NEW YORK, USA, 28 August 2009 – The situation facing children and families in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo was critical enough as they faced increasing conflict and insecurity in recent years, “but at this moment the country is facing three major crises,” says UNICEF Deputy Representative in DR Congo Steven Lauwerier.
Executive Director joins NBA star to launch new health facilities in DR Congo
KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 26 August 2009 – As this country tries to recover from years of civil war and unrest, the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital (BMMH) offers hope in an impoverished Kinshasa neighbourhood.
Reaching out to mothers to prevent HIV transmission in DR Congo
KATANGA, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 27 August 2009 – Louise Ngone is the head nurse of the Kikula Health Centre in Katanga. Ms. Ngone – or ‘Mama Louise’ as she is affectionately called – is a tireless advocate for all children born in her clinic, and she is passionate about making sure as few of them as possible are born with HIV.
Simple responses to child mortality make a dramatic difference in DR Congo
ORIENTALE PROVINCE, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 26 August 2009 – Local health centres here have opened their doors for the weighing and measuring of young children. It’s a simple check on child health status, but it is having a dramatic impact.
Pounding rock and crushing potential: Child labour in DR Congo
KIPUSHI, Democratic Republic of Congo, 12 June 2009 – Covered in powder, Sylvian, 2, sits alongside his mother, pounding rocks with a mallet in an ore heap in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Rocks, dust and sun: This is the only life Sylvian has known.
In eastern DR Congo, up to 250,000 flee attacks by Rwandan rebel group
NEW YORK, USA, 13 April, 2009 – Since January, more than 250,000 people have fled fighting in North Kivu province in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, adding further strain to an already grave humanitarian situation facing children and families there. Some 800,000 Congolese remain displaced from the past two years of conflict in the province.
UNICEF Chief of HIV and AIDS sees treatment and prevention in DR Congo
KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 8 April 2009 – DR Congo is where the first known cases of AIDS were identified, and today up to half a million people here are living with HIV – over 50,000 of them children.
Death in Dungu: Rebel violence escalates in north-eastern DR Congo
NEW YORK, USA, 13 March 2009 – The Ugandan rebel group, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), has killed more than 900 people in the north-eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo since December of last year. Hundreds of children have been abducted and tens of thousands of Congolese have been displaced by the fighting.
Deputy Executive Director calls for release of all child soldiers in DR Congo
NEW YORK, USA, 3 March 2009 – UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Hilde F. Johnson has urged armed groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to release all children associated with the conflict.
US tour to raise awareness of V-Day/UNICEF campaign against rape in DR Congo
NEW YORK, USA, 12 February 2009 – On the eve of a five-city US speaking tour designed to raise awareness about the effect of sexual violence on the women of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, activist Eve Ensler warned yesterday that western consumption of DR Congo's resources has "consequences ... on the bodies of women."
Protecting orphans and vulnerable children in the DR Congo
KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo, 12 January 2009 – Life is hard for the vast majority of children in DR Congo. For the country’s orphans, who make up almost 10 per cent of the population, life can be even harder.
Japanese grant provides clean water and sanitation for DR Congo schools
MONGA FULA, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 17 December 2008 – Kiboko Primary school was built in the 1950s, before the Democratic Republic of Congo gained independence. It has 363 pupils, including 169 girls and, until recently, it had no sanitation facilities or sources of safe drinking water.
Goodwill Ambassador Mia Farrow witnesses devastation and emergency relief in North Kivu
NORTH KIVU, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 12 December 2008 – UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Mia Farrow is visiting conflict-affected North Kivu, on a three-day mission to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Goodwill Ambassador Mia Farrow arrives in North Kivu
NORTH KIVU, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 11 December 2008 – UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Mia Farrow arrived in conflict-affected North Kivu today, at the start of a three-day mission to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Thousands of schools closed in eastern DR Congo
NEW YORK, USA, 21 November 2008 – Fighting in the North Kivu province of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo has caused massive disruptions in schooling for hundreds of thousands of children. Throughout the province, thousands of schools are closed. Many schools are now occupied by displaced people.
A day on the ground in crisis-stricken North Kivu, DR Congo
KIBATI CAMP, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 18 November 2008 – In the last two weeks, well over 100,000 people have fled their homes due to fighting and insecurity in eastern DR Congo. Over 35,000 are on the move as I write. In the last two and a half months, around 250,000 people have fled their homes. Some 1.1 million people in North Kivu – or 20 per cent of the province’s population – are now in displacement.
Children abducted by armed groups in eastern DR Congo
NEW YORK, USA, 14 November 2008 – Continued fighting in North Kivu province, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, is placing children at risk of abuse and exploitation by armed groups, according to UNICEF representatives in Goma.
Aid flights arrive in DR Congo, but insecurity persists
NEW YORK, USA, 11 November 2008 – Insecurity persists in the North Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where more than 250,000 people have been forced from their homes in the last two months alone, due to fighting between the army and a rebel group.
Fighting resumes in DR Congo as displaced civilians languish
NEW YORK, USA, 7 November 2008 – A fragile ceasefire is falling apart in North Kivu province, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, further deepening an already catastrophic humanitarian situation. Over the last two days, fighting between rebels and government troops and their allies has forced thousands more to flee.
Continued insecurity hinders aid to displaced families in DR Congo
NEW YORK, USA, 6 November 2008 – Continued violence in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo is seriously hampering humanitarian agencies from reaching more than 1 million displaced people in the region.
Aid on hold as fighting displaces thousands more families in North Kivu, DR Congo
GOMA, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 30 October 2008 – In eastern DR Congo’s North Kivu province, war rages on between government forces and rebels. Over the last six weeks alone, more than 250,000 people have been forced to flee fighting, bringing the total number of displaced people in the province to over 1 million.
Volunteer parents help fight HIV/AIDS in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo, 20 October 2008 – Bella, a native of DR Congo, returned to this country from Uganda three years ago. After almost a year of sickness, she decided to go to one of the HIV-testing centres in Kinshasa.
In DR Congo, community-based clinics lead the fight against child malnutrition
KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 14 October 2008 – The locality of Binza Meteo is one of the poorest in Kinshasa, the capital of DR Congo. The roads are in a bad shape, water and electricity are scarce and most people do not have a steady job.
'Not by Bombs and Bullets' – overcoming the legacy of violence in DRC
GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo, 26 June 2008 – The road to Rutshuru runs past hazy active volcanoes and silver lakes. It would be the stuff travel brochures are made of – that is, if this route on the eastern edge of DRC, flush with Rwanda, wasn’t literally lined with the hardware of a war few understand.
As DR Congo crisis persists, UN classifies rape as weapon of war
GOMA, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 24 June 2008 – In a momentous step forward for the protection of women and girls in DR Congo and around the world, the UN Security Council has voted unanimously in favour of a resolution classifying rape as a weapon of war.
UNICEF Executive Director joins V-Day to focus on stopping rape in DR Congo
NEW ORLEANS, USA, 15 April 2008 – UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman joined thousands of supporters and activists to celebrate the 10th anniversary of V-Day, a global movement to end violence against women and girls. Over the past decade, V-Day has raised over $50 million and educated millions of people about violence against women and how to end it.
In DR Congo, counselling and education heal the invisible wounds of war
GOMA, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 11 March 2008 – Moka, 13, was hiding at home with his family when the mortar landed. “It killed my grandfather and my younger brother,” he says. “We saw them dead, blown up, burnt.”
UNICEF appeals for help with humanitarian activities in DR Congo
GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo, 14 February 2008 – Not far outside this town that has swelled to 10 times its size in as many years, the hardware of war can be found along all routes in this region of active volcanoes, forests and lakes.
‘HEAL Africa’ helps war-affected young women and children
GOMA, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 8 February 2008 – Fighting between factions in Goma – the capital of North Kivu Province – has killed, injured and displaced millions of Congolese over the last decade. A recent International Red Cross report estimates that 40,000 people have died every month since conflict began in 1998 – most of them women and children.
Maisha’s story: Former child soldier reclaims his life in DR Congo
GOMA, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 16 October 2007 – Maisha (not his real name) was 15 when he joined the Mayi-Mayi militia, a loose coalition of Congolese soldiers that emerged a decade ago in opposition to the Rwandan-backed Rassemblement Congolais pour la Démocratie (RCD).
Masika’s story: Child combatant in DR Congo recalls the emptiness of army life
GOMA, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 11 October 2007 – Masika (not her real name) was only 13 when she decided to join the Rassemblement Congolais pour la Démocratie (RCD) militia in eastern DR Congo. She joined because her mother had recently died. She also liked the uniforms the soldiers were wearing.
Helping former soldiers plant seeds for the future in DR Congo
GOMA, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2 October 2007 – Simon, 15, always loved to garden on his family’s farm in the Masisi territory of eastern DR Congo. At age 10, however, he was forcibly abducted by the Rassemblement Congolais pour la Démocratie (RCD) militia, and for several years he fought on the front lines in many battles and was forced to loot villages in order to survive.
Humanitarian supplies distributed in the wake of conflict in North Kivu, DR Congo
NORTH KIVU, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 27 September 2007 – Just a 20-minute drive west of Goma, the North Kivu provincial capital, the aftermath of recent fighting between government troops and dissident forces begins to unfold.
Humanitarian crisis in DR Congo continues as a tenuous peace sets in
GOMA, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 21 September 2007 – Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced and left destitute by the recent fighting in North Kivu, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Displaced children especially vulnerable to illness and military re-recruitment in North Kivu
NORTH KIVU, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 18 September 2007 – In an era of extreme difficulty for the people of DR Congo, between 300,000 to 350,000 people have been displaced since November 2006. In the last few weeks, the situation has gone from bad to worse, with approximately 60,000 people displaced from their homes around North Kivu. In unstable circumstances like these, children are especially vulnerable to exploitation.
V-Day and UNICEF urge protection for women and girls in eastern DR Congo
NEW YORK, USA, 6 August 2007 – Highlighting the issue of violence against women and girls, renowned US playwright and ‘V-Day’ founder Eve Ensler has chronicled her firsthand encounters with women in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where sexual violence has become a routine weapon of war.
UNICEF Ambassador Lucy Liu visits families displaced by violence in DR Congo
NORTH KIVU, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 18 June 2007 – UNICEF Ambassador Lucy Liu has just returned from a trip to war-torn eastern DR Congo, where she witnessed the dire situation of displaced women and children.
Water is plentiful but not safe enough for children in DR Congo
KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo, 25 September 2006 – The mighty Congo and hundreds of lesser rivers crisscross the lush countryside here, providing plentiful water, but the legacies of a decade-long war abound.
Even where fighting has ended, sexual violence scars children and women in DR Congo
KISANGANI, Democratic Republic of Congo, 4 August 2006 – Through the mists and past the dense forests on the edge of the Congo River in Kisangani, thousands of militia and government soldiers have set up camp. It is a bold experiment in integrating former enemies, a vital step for a peaceful future.
Children on the run from conflict in Democratic Republic of Congo
KISANGANI, Democratic Republic of Congo, July 31, 2006 – A child stomps maize outside her home on the shores of Lake Albert, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It seems at first glance like a peaceful scene but her shelter is a green sheet wrapped over a skeleton of sticks and rebel fighters lurk in the hills surrounding the camp. Like so many other children here, this girl has grown up on the run from conflict.
Former child combatants need alternatives to soldiering
LUMUMBASHI, Democratic Republic of Congo, 26 July 2006 – Seventeen-year-old Jean lives in a modest house in Lumumbashi. In a spare room, he works with colourful cloth to expertly tailor a shirt. But Jean would much rather be making war than clothes.
Childhood under attack in DR Congo
NEW YORK, USA, 24 July 2006 – Childhood in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been under attack for decades but elections on 30 July could offer an opportunity to break the cycle of violence that has scarred an entire generation.
Marie Paule’s story: Surviving life on the streets of Kinshasa, DR Congo
KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo, 22 June 2006 – Marie Paule is in her first year of secondary school. At 14, children her age are usually in their second or even third year. The young teenager may be late in catching up, but she has come a long way.
UN agency heads call for new commitment to help Africa's Great Lakes region
NAIROBI, Kenya, 3 March 2006 – The heads of three of the largest United Nations humanitarian agencies today urged the international community to match political progress in the Great Lakes region with a new commitment to end the suffering of the millions of people forgotten by the rest of the world.
UNICEF Executive Director on joint mission to Great Lakes region with heads of WFP and UNHCR
NEW YORK, 27 February 2006 – UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman has taken a firsthand look at programmes for children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, including meeting with street children at a feeding programme in Kinshasa. Ms Veneman is in Africa for a joint visit to the Great Lakes region with the Executive Director of the World Food Programme James Morris and UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres.
As 6,000 flee renewed violence, UNICEF distributes food and emergency supplies
BUNIA, DR Congo, 10 February 2006 – Fighting has once again erupted between armed militias and government troops in the eastern part of this country. Fearing the violence, more than 6,000 people – most of whom are children fleeing with their parents – have abandoned their homes and taken refuge near the village of Aveba, in hopes of being protected by UN peacekeeping troops stationed nearby.
Fighting in DR Congo forces Pygmy populations to flee the forests
BENI, DR Congo, 3 February 2006 – The preferred way of life for the Pygmy population around North Kivu is to remain in forested areas. But now they are being forced to flee their villages by a recent upsurge in fighting in the area.
Humanitarian crisis in eastern DR Congo worsens as fighting continues
DUBIE, Democratic Republic of Congo, 30 January 2006 - A young mother’s wailing pierces the air, as a group of men prepare her baby’s grave. The funeral begins and, wrapped in a blanket, the baby is laid to rest on top of a banana leaf in the shallow pit. Now a mother no more, the young women collects herself and staggers away.
New fighting displaces more than 10,000 people in DR Congo
NEW YORK, 27 December 2005 – Renewed fighting between Government forces supported by UN peacekeeping troops and opposition militias has displaced at least 10,000 people in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo in recent weeks. These clashes come as the country strives to recover after a long civil conflict.
DR Congo: Volunteers help children orphaned by HIV/AIDS
KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo, 24 October 2005 – Only now emerging from a long history of war, the Democratic Republic of Congo is facing a future where poverty and disease, especially HIV/AIDS, will be the enemies and soldiers of a different kind will be needed for the battle.
Nearly 3,000 former child soldiers returned to civilian life
NEW YORK, 4 April 2005 – UNICEF has confirmed that over 2,900 former child soldiers in Ituri District, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, have been returned to civilian life since September 2004.
Former child soldiers reclaim their lost childhood
KPANDROMA, Ituri District, DR Congo, 30 March 2005 - At a UNICEF-supported demobilization and community reintegration centre in Kpandroma, Congolese children, some as young as eight, are putting on a play to re-enact the ordeal they endured as pawns of armed groups.
Life-saving immunization drive launches in DR Congo
NEW YORK, 28 February 2005 - A UNICEF supported immunization drive, which begins officially in March will send vaccinators into villages across the Democratic Republic of the Congo to immunize children against a host of childhood diseases.
Tetsuko Kuroyanagi raises another $1 million for UNICEF
TOKYO, 31 January 2005 – Renowned Japanese TV personality and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Tetsuko Kuroyanagi raised yet another $1 million in 2004 to help UNICEF in its work for the world’s children.
“The Mamas” go door to door to help villagers with health
KAPOLOWE VILLAGE, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 26 August 2004 – The villagers here are lucky to live near Lake Tshanga-Lele: Fish from the lake provide a convenient source of food. But the shores of the lake are also a potential source of death. Malaria infected mosquitoes bring danger, disease and death to many here.
