Continued fighting between rebels and the government army in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is causing thousands of civilians to flee their homes.
ActionAid DRC is working closely with other aid agencies and non-governmental organizations to assess the needs of the population of the MUGUNGA 2 camp for internally displaced people (IDP) on the outskirts of Goma, the provincial capital.
The population of the camp continues to increase, with the arrival of IDP family members initially left behind and also because the security situation remains increasingly uncertain, with the threat of renewed fighting happening at any time.
The current living conditions in the IDP camps is critical; food is scarce, there is no water storage facilities and an insufficient number of shelters. The humanitarian crisis has further worsened with the onset of diseases.
The immediate needs of those affected are shelter, food items and non food items such as plastic sheeting, blankets and clothes and more specific needs for women include sanitary pads, soap, kitchen sets, flour for porridge, basins and milk for children. There is also an urgent need for jerry cans to store safe water and also help limit the spread of waterborne diseases.
ActionAid is on the ground responding to the situation to help the people with jerry cans to carry water. "ActionAid will provide 20-litre water containers to 6,000 families as a first line of response to the fleeing families who are settled in a number of refugee camps around Goma town," says Edward Kakande, ActionAid country programme manager in the DRC.
ActionAid is also focusing on vulnerable groups, especially women. Through its 'Violence Against Women' programme, ActionAid is dedicated to providing psychosocial care to women who have experienced severe violence. ActionAid's wider aim is to develop a platform to raise the voice of women and children against their violation of rights, working alongside local women based organizations.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
