Democratic republic of the Congo

Only 27 % of health facilities in the DRC have essential equipment and only 20 % have essential medicines. There is also a lack of qualified staff, with just 0.28 doctors and 1.19 nurses and midwives per 10,000 people.

In addition, the country continues to be subject to natural disasters and epidemics. Over 9,000 cases of mpox have been recorded, making the DRC the country most hard hit by mpox in the world.

In 2024, 7.7 million people were at risk of gender-based violence in the DRC. Apart from physical and sexual violence, women and girls are often affected by everyday violence, as they face gender inequality, socio-economic barriers and stereotypes deeply rooted in society and have little access to education, information and health services designed to meet their needs.

As a result, just 31 % of women and girls in the DRC make their own decisions about their health, including the choice of whether or not to have children. Only 16 % of women and girls between the ages of 15 and 49 use modern contraceptive methods. On average, four women die during pregnancy or childbirth every hour in the DRC.

Market gardeners are widely exposed to chemical pesticides. These chemicals are used without personal protective equipment and pose serious health risks, of which workers and people living nearby are not aware. Effects include chronic fatigue, back pain, cardiac and respiratory infections and cancers.

Médecins du Monde engages actively with community workers and healthcare staff to identify severe acute malnutrition in children under the age of five and pregnant and breastfeeding women. When cases are confirmed, patients receive appropriate medical care at the health centres supported by Médecins du Monde. Cookery demonstrations and education about feeding infants and young children are provided within the communities of Tanganyika.

Tanganyika has been affected by several epidemics of measles and cholera and so Médecins du Monde is undertaking epidemiological surveillance. In the third quarter of 2024, seven of the eleven health zones in the region were affected by a cholera epidemic. These diseases continue to be a major concern because of the population displacements which make it impossible to carry out vaccination campaigns and are associated with overcrowding and lack of facilities, all of which accelerate the transmission of disease.

Médecins du Monde also developed an emergency response to the mpox epidemic which was particularly virulent in the DRC. The aim was to improve the conditions for caring for patients, develop the skills of health professionals in terms identifying, treating and referring suspected cases, provide support for healthcare facilities, raise awareness in communities about the disease, share protective measures and organise epidemiological surveillance in communities.

Médecins du Monde has been working in Kinshasa for over ten years on issues around sexual and reproductive health and rights. This includes projects which seek to raise awareness and provide information to young people and to strengthen relationships between healthcare professionals, young people, their families and community and religious leaders. We also provide good quality, tailored health services.

In 2024, our teams provided 11,440 consultations on sexual and reproductive health and rights, supported 7,281 women and girls using contraception for the first time, provided safe abortion care to 1,635 women and girls and distributed 172,712 condoms during awareness-raising campaigns in communities, schools and mobile clinics.

After major floods in Kinshasa in 2024, Médecins du Monde worked in the most severely affected health zones. Between July and October 2024 our awareness-raising campaigns on waterborne diseases and essential hygiene practices reached around 43,000 people. We trained eight health workers to provide high-quality medical care, held over 4,000 healthcare consultations and enabled 520 people to receive psychosocial support with a local partner organisation. In addition, four health centres were refurbished.

Médecins du Monde’s work with market gardeners focuses on improving their working conditions, especially in the heavily urbanised areas around Kinshasa. In 2024, we refurbished and equipped two health centres near market garden sites, trained 24 healthcare providers on the prevention and treatment of occupational diseases in the agricultural sector and provided 2,344 medical consultations for market gardeners and their families.

The Médecins du Monde teams are also supporting the establishment of associations of market gardeners and provide training for them to promote agroecology among their peers, as well as tetanus vaccinations for those affected. We also support leaders of groups of market gardeners with campaigning for the regulation of the use of harmful pesticides.