Burundi: At Least Eight Cholera Deaths Among Refugees from The DRC
At least eight people have died from cholera among more than 80,000 people who fled fighting in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to Burundi, according to humanitarian sources.
After seizing the major Congolese cities of Goma in January and then Bukavu in February, the M23 launched a new offensive in early December in South Kivu province, along the Burundian border, at a time when Rwanda and the DRC were signing a peace agreement in Washington under the auspices of President Donald Trump.
As the United Nations launched an emergency funding appeal last week to enable the dignified reception of more than 80,000 people who fled to Burundi, a humanitarian source reported on Wednesday eight cholera-related deaths among them, along with 150 confirmed cases.
“The situation is catastrophic (…) because we are facing tens of thousands of refugees who are severely lacking everything: food, shelter, water, medicines, everything since their arrival in Burundi,” the humanitarian worker said.
On Monday, Médecins Sans Frontières stated in a press release that 42% of the malaria tests conducted by the NGO in previous days had returned positive results.
The UN estimates that 500,000 people have been displaced as a result of the M23 offensive, including 200,000 from the Uvira region.
The remaining 300,000 come from the Fizi region, located about one hundred kilometers south of Uvira.
