There is an update to the information from Telecoms Sans Frontieres (TSF) when deployed January 24th in the north east of the Democratic Republic of Congo close to the border with Sudan to support aid agencies working in the Haut-Uélé District. TSF installed an Emergency Communication Centre in Dungu located at the MONUC Compound where 15 to 20 aid workers from OCHA, UNICEF, WFP and UNHCR are using it daily. Photo on left courtesy of TSF
In the Haut-Uélé alone, there are 135,000 displaced which are regularly facing LRA rebel attacks. In Dungu, there are no landlines and the only GSM operator available in the area is not reliable due to regular power failure. There is no electricity so all aid agencies rely on generators. The working conditions are really tough. There is little food including for those working to help the population due to limited supplies linked to the security conditions.
“One week there is a bustling village and the next week our mobile medical teams return to discover it’s completely empty – a ghost town. Thousands are on the move – a constant stream of humanity on the road. Who knows where all these people will end up? The families settle in inhospitable areas, many of them in the bush, where there is no chance of accessing healthcare… Malaria is endemic in the country, as is cholera, which increases whenever people are on the move like this or crowded into unsanitary camps… The people I met are also hungry, as they can’t go to their fields to harvest. It’s just too dangerous. If you are out alone trying to get to your land you can be shot or raped.” Excerpted from: iR2P Individual Responsibility to Protect website
Photo credit: iR2P Individual Responsibility to Protect website
