Aid increased for refugees fleeing violence in DRC

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is providing urgently needed medical care and water and sanitation in western Uganda, following an influx of tens of thousands of refugees fleeing insecurity in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in mid-July. Uganda 2013 © Andres-Romero/MSFMSF staff providing services to Congolese refugees who have fled into Uganda. Around 22,000 refugees are now living in the Bubukwanga transit camp,18 kilometresfrom the DRC border, in a space designed for only 12,500 people. MSF is providing medical care including maternity healthcare, vaccinations and nutrition treatment, as well as working to improve a potentially dangerous water and sanitation situation. Medical care is provided both to refugees and locals, reaching a population of 50,000. Next week, MSF will begin offering medical care in the Kyangwali permanent camp where refugees are being transferred. UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, has so far transferred around 4,000 refugees from the transit camp to this permanent site and plans to continue transferring 2,000 each week. The permanent camp is 150 kilometres away but the journey can take up to six hours and itself poses a risk for the refugees. Unfortunately yesterday one of the transfer buses crashed, killing one baby and injuring 24 other people. The injured were transported in an MSF ambulance to a nearby hospital where MSF and other medical staff provided critical care. Additionally, the number of refugees arriving at the transit...
Source: MSF News - Category: Global & Universal Tags: Uganda NEWS Frontpage Democratic Republic of Congo Source Type: news