Where We Work

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Mpox is rapidly spreading through the DRC and nearby countries, prompting the World Health Organization to declare a public health emergency of international concern. The strain that is currently spreading, Clade I, is the more deadly of the two main strains. Previous outbreaks of Clade I have reported mortality rates of as high as 10%.

As detailed in this situation report, International Medical Corps is responding in the DRC, providing training and PPE to healthcare providers, and working with international and regional authorities to coordinate further response efforts. LEARN MORE >>

Years after the official end of a decade-long civil war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), violence remains pervasive throughout eastern DRC, sexual abuse of women and children continues to escalate and more than one-third of the population lacks access to basic healthcare.

International Medical Corps has worked in the DRC since 1999, providing primary and secondary healthcare, capacity-building, gender-based violence (GBV) prevention and treatment, nutrition support, social and behavioral change, food security programs, mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) services, and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services. In recent years, we have responded to multiple outbreaks of disease, including Ebola, measles, polio and COVID-19.

International Medical Corps is currently serving communities in remote and hard-to-reach areas in North Kivu, South Kivu and Tanganyika provinces, in the eastern part of the country. We have served more than 2 million people in the DRC, many of whom have been affected by armed conflict.

Population

111.9 million

Internally Displaced Persons

6.9 million

Life Expectancy

60/64 

male/female

The Challenges

Weak Healthcare Systems

Years of conflict, war and instability have devastated health systems

Sexual and Gender-Based Violence

Approximately 50% of women in the DRC are survivors of domestic violence

Malnutrition

More than 25 million people in the DRC are considered highly food-insecure

Lack of Clean Water, Sanitation and Hygiene

High number of deaths from preventable diseases, such as cholera, malaria, polio and measles

Our Response

Healthcare

International Medical Corps currently supports more than 200 health centers and hospitals across 11 health zones, providing essential drugs, medical supplies, training, and referral and transfer of patients who need specialized care. Our beneficiaries include Ebola-affected communities, internally displaced persons (IDPs), returnees and vulnerable host populations. Given the considerable gaps in primary healthcare services in International Medical Corps’ area of intervention, we focus on providing a comprehensive and integrated primary care package, including immunization campaigns, advancement of maternal and child health, and improved environmental sanitation and hygiene practices at targeted health facilities. We continue to support capacity-building within these health centers to ensure that treatment quality remains high.

Gender-Based Violence

Since 2002, International Medical Corps has helped lead the battle against widespread gender-based violence (GBV) in war-ravaged eastern DRC. International Medical Corps is implementing protection, child protection and GBV activities, including establishing women’s and girls’ safe spaces (WGSS), training paralegals, and providing psychological first aid and post-exposure prophylaxis kits to survivors of GBV.

International Medical Corps supports efforts by more than 30 community-based organizations and health facilities to strengthen core services for GBV survivors, particularly quality medical GBV case management and psychosocial support services. 

Nutrition

Together with our global partners, International Medical Corps provides nutrition services in communities of North Kivu, South Kivu and Tanganyika provinces, helping thousands of children recover from malnutrition. Our nutrition services treat severely and moderately malnourished children and adults—particularly pregnant and lactating women—and support livelihood interventions. 

To help parents take ownership of their families’ nutritional needs, we provide nutritional education and training sessions to help people cultivate staple crops. Our teams also support procurement, transportation and distribution of nutrition supplements such as ready-to-use therapeutic food and therapeutic milk. We also provide monitoring tools to health facilities to help them recognize and treat malnutrition.  

Ebola Outbreaks

Thanks to our extensive experience helping to lead the response to the 2014 West African outbreak, the DRC asked for our help in 2018 when the deadly virus struck in the country’s Équateur region. We helped quell that outbreak—the country’s ninth—by July of that year, but in August another outbreak occurred along the war-torn eastern edge of the country that would grow to become the second-largest in world history. To find out more, click the link below.

Learn more

Resources

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Situations Reports

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