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03 October 2024

Josée: resilience and bravery in the face of flooding in Bolambi

In the village of Bolambi, nestled in the heart of Tshopo province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Josée saw her life turned upside down by severe flooding in March 2024. Pregnant with her sixth child, she and her five other children were forced to take refuge high in the trees as the waters of the River ...
25 August 2022

UNICEF responds to protect and support children and families following declaration of new Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

GOMA, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 24 August 2022, , –, Following the confirmation of a new Ebola case in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC),, , UNICEF teams are working to provide support for affected communities. The government of the DRC confirmed earlier this week that a 46-year-old woman died of Ebola on 15 August 2022 in the eastern town of Beni. UNICEF's first responder teams are supporting zonal coordination, commun...
01 September 2020

Guidance note

In humanitarian settings, public health emergencies (PHE) are often one of many crises facing communities, governments and response actors. Evidence from the social sciences and other disciplines can inform decisions about effective actions and interventions in response to these events. To maximise the chance that...
31 March 2020

On life support

Ongoing efforts to contain an Ebola outbreak in the east of the country have diverted attention and resources from already enfeebled healthcare facilities which are dealing with several deadly endemic diseases. Since early 2019, a measles epidemic – the worst in the world -- has killed more than 5,300 children und...
27 January 2020

Ebola: the day everything rocked

“My wife Devoté was at the hospital to give birth," tells Solomon Paluku Banzuku as he recalls the day that rocked his life. Two weeks after giving birth to her son, Devoté began to feel bad. "We thought she was poisoned," Solomon says. Nobody knew that when she gave birth, an Ebola-infected person was right next ...
03 December 2019

UNICEF issues largest-ever emergency funding appeal to reach historic numbers of children in need

GENEVA, 4 December 2019, – UNICEF today released its US$ 4.2 billion 2020 emergency appeal to reach 59 million children with life-saving support in 64 countries across the globe. It is its biggest ask of donors yet, representing 3.5 times the funds requested in 2010. “Around the world today, we’re seeing the large...
12 March 2019

260,000 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition in the Kasai region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

KINSHASA, 8 March 2019 –, UNICEF estimates that 260,000 children in the Kasai region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are suffering from severe acute malnutrition and in need of lifesaving treatment. Thousands of children from Kasai who have fled with their families to the neighboring Provinces of Kwi...
30 January 2019

Six months on, Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo now second largest in history

KINSHASA/NEW YORK, 30 January 2019, – Since the latest Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was declared six months ago, 1 st of August 2018, more than 740 people – 30 per cent of whom are children – have been infected with the disease, including over 460 who have died, and 258 that have su...
29 January 2019

UNICEF appeals for $3.9 billion in emergency assistance for 41 million children affected by conflict or disaster

GENEVA/NEW YORK, 29 January 2019 –, Millions of children living in countries affected by conflict and disaster lack access to vital child protection services, putting their safety, well-being and futures at risk, UNICEF warned today as it appealed for $3.9 billion to support its work for children in humanitarian c...
12 December 2018

Ebola : inform to better vaccinate

"I go door to door to inform families on the vaccination against Ebola", explains Julien, social mobilisator involved in the fight against the Ebola virus disease in the East of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Since the launch of the vaccination in the month of August 2018, Julien criss-crosses the st...
30 November 2018

Ebola: the use of dialogue as a means of raising awareness

For nearly four months eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo has been dealing with an Ebola outbreak. Informing populations about the viral disease, prevention measures and treatment options is crucial to stop the spread of the epidemic that has already claimed 212 lives. “ For those who don’t believe in the il...
09 November 2018

Préférence, a childhood broken by Ebola

Since the Ebola epidemic hit Beni, a city situated in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the life of Péférence has been completely overturned. Before the epidemic started, the 12-year-old girl was living a happy childhood with her little brothers, her mother and her grandmother. In August, Pré...