Health in the Heart of a Crisis

By Stacey Freeman - Director of Resource Development, February 13, 2007 04:13 PM

IMC has been supporting 59 health centers in three remote health zones in eastern DRC: Itebero, Bunyakiri, and Kalonge. Unfortunately, three of these health centers were temporarily rendered inaccessible due to conditions on the ground--an apt example of how instability in DRC prevents residents from accessing even the most basic services.

This instability, along with poor development, limited education, rudimentary sanitation, and environmental factors, has resulted in dangerous outbreaks of disease. Each day, the Congolese people must confront conditions including malaria, respiratory infections, anemia, water born diseases, tuberculosis, leprosy, HIV/AIDS, and severe malnutrition--not to mention horrifying levels of sexual violence perpetrated mainly against women and young girls.

IMC is making life better for the residents of DRC's Kivu Provinces by providing primary health care, therapeutic feeding, treatment and prevention of sexual violence, and--most importantly--essential skills training for local health workers. These medical professionals face working conditions most of us can't imagine. They are underresourced and lack opportunities for education and advancement. However, they also are eager to learn from IMC's staff how they can do their jobs better--and save more lives as a result.

This program is a great example of IMC's commitment to leave something behind wherever we go--whether it be trained health workers, cadres of knowledgeable community volunteers, new health centers, or even jobs.

Your donations mean the world to us and to those we support in DRC.

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