The ICRC is using the current relative stability to reach
and assist the victims of the armed conflict in North Kivu. The humanitarian situation is an ongoing source of concern for the ICRC, even though there has been less fighting in recent weeks.
General situation While the conflict between the armed opposition and government forces is on hold, fighting has continued sporadically in some parts of North Kivu.
These
skirmishes have triggered further displacement as villagers try to escape the violence.
Violations of international humanitarian law continue to be a cause for concern, as is the plight of
the 250,000 displaced persons in the Kivus who remain cut off from their homes and livelihoods.
Restoring family links The ICRC reunited two girls with their mother on 10
December after they had been separated by the conflict.
The Red Cross has now identified and registered more than 150 unaccompanied children since the end of October.
The ICRC is
working with four radio stations in North Kivu and the network of local branches of the Red Cross Society of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to trace children's relatives as quickly as
possible.
An armed militia group handed over six child soldiers to the ICRC.
They will be placed in the care of a transit centre and, hopefully, reunited with their families.
Protecting and assisting detainees The ICRC continues to visit people held in the prison in Goma and to monitor the conditions of their detention.
The ICRC provided
medicines and medical advice for detainees in two detention centres.
Providing safe drinking water In Saké, the ICRC is upgrading the water supply system to provide safe
drinking water for the town's 30,000 inhabitants and its large displaced population.
Eventually, these efforts will result in a doubling of the town's water production.
In the
Kibati camps near Goma, the ICRC and the Congolese Red Cross continue to supply 80,000 litres of water to two distribution points – Kanyarutchinia and Munigui – every day to meet the needs
of 30,000 displaced people.
An emergency facility in Vitshumbi set up by the ICRC and run by the Congolese Red Cross continues to produce 70,000 litres of drinking water a day, helping to
stave off water-borne diseases among the area's 12,000 residents and displaced people.
In Kitshanga, ICRC engineers are carrying out repair work on the town's water network with a view to
providing safe drinking water for 25,000 residents.
The ICRC is installing a new 90,000-litre reservoir for the 32,000 displaced people in Mungote and Kahe camps in Kitshanga.
This will triple the camps' current water storage capacity and finally meet their needs.
In Bulambo, the ICRC is installing nine new water stations to expand the water network installed
in 2008.
In Kirumba and Kanyabayonga, the ICRC gave the local water boards the equipment they needed to repair their water facilities.
Surgery and public health The
ICRC's surgical team performed operations on 10 patients this week.
The surgical team continues to work in Katindo Military Hospital.
Local Red Cross volunteers help keep the
hospital clean.
Assistance Sake, Bweremana and Minova (30 to 45 km west of Goma)
Together with the Congolese Red Cross, the ICRC distributed food to over 27,000 people in
Saké, Kirotshe, Shasha, Kihindo and Bweremana this week in coordination with the World Food Programme.
The aid is reaching displaced people and residents alike.
Many
residents are hosting the displaced.
Beneficiaries received flour, beans, cooking oil and salt.
Butembo
The ICRC gave the local Red Cross chapter essential items such as
blankets, mats, buckets, soap, kitchen utensils and hoes for distribution to displaced families.
Rutshuru
ICRC staff assessed the needs of those affected by the recent wave of
fighting in Rutshuru territory.
People in and around Rugari, Rumangabo and Kabaya were found to be most in need of assistance.
The ICRC has decided to target 6,400 households of
vulnerable people when it distributes food and seed for the next planting season.
Counselling centres Thirty-four ICRC-supported centres, spread across the two Kivu provinces,
continue to help victims of sexual violence overcome their trauma.
A new centre opened this week in Mugunga camp for the displaced, near Goma.
Strengthening the Red Cross
Society of the Democratic Republic of the Congo The ICRC trained 32 first-aid team leaders in Goma.
It also provided training in disaster preparedness for 10 managers in Goma.
In Rutshuru territory, the ICRC trained 11 volunteers from Kirumba to find and register children separated from their families.
The ICRC trained 20 volunteers from Alimbongo and Bingi to
register displaced persons.
Promoting and monitoring respect for international humanitarian law The ICRC sensitised over 100 members of the Maï Maï militias on the basic
principles of international humanitarian law For further information, please contact:
Sébastien Brack, ICRC Goma, tel +243 81 70 08 536
Anna Schaaf, ICRC Geneva, tel +41 22 730 22
71 or +41 79 217 32 17
A nurse attends to bus accident victims in a hospital at Nawalparasi December 12, 2008. A school bus crashed in southwest Nepal, killing at least 22 people, most of them children ...
