More than 10,000 cases of severe acute malnutrition recorded in Kibirizi health zone (North Kivu)

More than 10,000 cases of severe acute malnutrition were recorded over ten months in Kibirizi health zone, Rutshuru territory, North Kivu, among displaced people, returnees and host communities. Statistics also show 11,732 cases among children aged one month to 15 years in the first half of the year, and more than 14,000 severe or moderate cases among pregnant and breastfeeding women and people living with HIV or tuberculosis. Despite assistance from organizations including MSF France and Caritas Goma, health-zone supervisor Jérémie Mali Mingi says available resources are insufficient and calls for more humanitarian partners. Health officials link the worsening crisis to population displacement caused by insecurity in eastern DR Congo.