As UN agencies reported “relative calm” on Wednesday in the city of Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), humanitarians warned that the chaos caused by advancing M23 rebel forces could fuel a region-wide health emergency.
Aid teams from the UN World Health Organization (WHO) “cannot move freely to support the hospitals, even ambulances cannot run. It’s a situation that in public health is a nightmare,” said Dr Boureima Hama Sambo, WHO Representive in DRC.
‘Vulnerable people need us’
Speaking to UN News, Dr Sambo added: “We just hope that the situation will return to normal for the Government … vulnerable people really need us.”
Conditions in provincial capital Goma remain “dire”, he added, with no running water, electricity cut and civilians trapped – including health professionals.
Echoing those concerns, a senior UN peacekeeping official warned that the level of suffering among those caught up in the violence was “unimaginable”.
Vivian van de Perre, Deputy Special Representative for Protection and Operations in the UN Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) told the Security Council late Tuesday that there was a need for “urgent and coordinated international action” to stop the fighting between Rwanda-backed M23 rebels and Congolese forces as they battled for control of Goma.