Mulongwe: Refugees worried about the spread of cholera

Burundian refugees in Mulongwe camp in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo say they are at high risk of the disease, which is spreading very quickly. Nearly 100 cases have been reported in one month.

INFO SOS Médias Burundi
 
The refugees say that the lack of water, latrines and poor sanitation services are the cause of the epidemic. 
 
Déo Ntakirutimana, representative of Burundian refugees in Mulongwe camp, says that “these cholera cases are mostly new refugees from the transit sites of Sange and Kavimvira”. The two sites are located in the territory of Uvira in South Kivu province in eastern Congo, not far from the border with Burundi.
 
Patients are treated at the Baraka General Hospital (South Kivu), which has a cholera treatment and monitoring center.

M. Machozi has two children with cholera. She deplores the lack of water and soap that the new occupants, especially, are facing.

“We have few toilets. There is no water, we are crammed together – women, men and children in the same shed,” laments Odile, 29. This refugee who left the Sange site more than two weeks ago, fears a strong spread of the disease.

Didier Numbi, representative of the national commission in charge of refugees on behalf of the Mulongwe camp, says that measures to stop the spread of cholera are being implemented.
He cites in particular the decision to prevent refugees from using water from the river that runs through the camp.

Mulongwe, a Burundian refugee camp based in Fizi territory, in South Kivu province, is home to about 15,000 occupants.

Placide Welo, director of the fight against cholera in the Democratic Republic of Congo, announced last month that more than 26,000 people were infected with cholera in the entire Congolese territory.

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Women and their children in front of a hangar sheltering new refugees at the Mulongwe camp in eastern Congo (SOS Media Burundi)