Press release
New water network extension in northern Goma to benefit 150,000 displaced persons and host families
GOMA, 25 January 2024 –, A major extension to the municipal water network in Goma, North Kivu Province, has been inaugurated today, providing water to an estimated 150,000 people in displaced and host communities. Funded by the European Union through UNICEF, the project replaces expensive water trucking to displac...
Article
Making water available in healthcare centres
For a long time, the Sacré Cœur healthcare centre at Walikale in the Nord-Kivu province was affected by issues with water, sanitation and hygiene. “It was difficult,” explained the nurse who works at the centre, knowing that the quality of healthcare was impacted by these issues. Staff had to travel outside of th...
Article
Rudundu families take steps toward positive change
Since the installation of a new water source in Rudundu, a village in Walungu Territory in South Kivu Province, cleanliness and hygiene have become the watchwords for all the inhabitants. Every day, Judith and Imani clean the area around their homes. "We are proud to contribute to the cleanliness of our village," ...
Article
Ensuring lasting access to drinking water after Ebola
Between 2018 and 2020, the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was the epicentre of an Ebola epidemic which killed around 2,300 people. This epidemic – the tenth and the most serious the country has seen – particularly affected the health zone of Aloya, which was already battling waterborne diseases...
Photo essay
Drinking water to improve the lives of communities
In Bulenga, a health area in the province of South-Kivu, access to drinking water has been a game changer for residents. For a long time, the residents consumed water they found in the bottom of pits, endangering their health and the health of their children. “We have been struck by cholera but since we have acces...
Article
Water in schools
"We used to have to bring water from our homes to clean classrooms, sanitary facilities and even to drink," recalls Katangi, a sixth grader at the Nuru School Complex in Kipushi in Haut-Katanga province. The daily cleaning was a real chore for the students. "Often we were so tired that it was difficult to concentr...
Report
A turning point for manual drilling in the Democratic Republic of Congo
This publication describes over a decade of pioneering efforts by UNICEF, the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and partners to introduce and professionalise manual drilling. Over a ten-year period, manual drilling, using the rota-jetting technique, has gone from a little-known technology in the...
Article
A model village
“Our village became clean”, said proudly one of Aga residents, a village in the Northeast of Ituri province in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). “ Previously , our village was very dirty and our children suffered from the diarrhea”, said Esperance Tabu, adding that her eight children were drinking water fr...
Report
Ability to pay for water services
Law n°15/026 of 31 December 2015 on water declares that "public water services are accessible to all" and stipulates that "they are not free". However, only 34% of the population in rural areas have access to an improved water source (MICS-Palu DRC 2017-2018). The governance of the sector is one of the reasons for...
Article
Water for life - and survival
Nadine (20) waits patiently to fill her water cans, just like dozens of other women grouped around a drinking water point in Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Nadine may seem relaxed this morning, but it hasn't always been like that. Just a few months ago, the young mother had to walk more than 10 km every day to fetch water…
Report
Social impacts of rural water harvesting on girls
The right to drinking water and basic sanitation have been recognized as fundamental rights by the international community. Access to safe drinking water is essential for a dignified life and is a prerequisite for the realization of other human rights. In developing countries and particularly in sub-Saharan Africa...
Article
The residents acting to ensure a clean environment for their children
“When I was a child, animals and people shared river water a few kilometres from here,” remembers Tantine, one of the inhabitants of Bayamguma in the north of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Tantine has lived in the village since she was a small child and she remembers that she often had diarrhoea when...