Help for 1,500 children displaced by conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is to be provided by a Tearfund partner.
Heal Africa, which runs a hospital in the eastern city of Goma, is to supply food and medical care for youngsters living in camps.
Makeshift settlements have sprung up around Goma as tens of thousands of people have fled clashes between an armed group called M23 and the Congolese army.
Conditions are increasingly a cause for concern, with Heal Africa workers reporting cases of cholera breaking out in some camps, where there’s also inadequate shelter from the elements.
Withdrawal
A partner spokesman said, ‘There’s a great need for potable water and we fear that without it, diarrheal diseases will crop up. Care for pregnant women is practically non-existent.’
Tearfund’s Justine Nola, who is working with partners in DRC, said the security situation in Goma, which is home to a million people, remains fluid, although M23 forces began withdrawing from the city at the weekend.
‘We’re able to only come into the city for a few hours each day,’ said Justine. ‘There’s been a lot of looting over the last day or so directed at banks and government buildings.'
As well as families living in camps, there are hundreds more sheltering in schools. The fear is further violence will lead to more people being displaced and a worsening humanitarian crisis.