Democratic Republic of Congo

In the capital Kinshasa, MSF teams are treating COVID-19 patients in the St Joseph Hospital, one of the six hospitals identified by the Ministry of Health for COVID-19 patient care. From early May to early June, an average of 30 patients per day were being treated at the centre, with 20 per cent requiring oxygen therapy. We have trained medical staff on COVID-19 detection and prevention, and MSF’s team has developed a 40-bed isolation ward. At the Kabinda Hospital Centre in Kinshasa, where MSF supports HIV/AIDS patients, we have set up an isolation unit with 20 beds.

MSF mobile teams are also supporting 50 health structures in four health zones in Kinshasa to strengthen hygiene measures, train and equip staff with personal protective equipment, and carry out health promotion activities within the community.   

In Masisi, North Kivu, MSF has set up an isolation circuit at the Nyabiondo Reference Health Centre and a 20-bed isolation unit at the Masisi General Reference Hospital. MSF is utilising community radio and health promoter teams to raise awareness of COVID-19 within communities and to help reduce transmission.

In Lubumbashi, MSF is supporting the Ministry of Health through the construction of a dedicated COVID-19 treatment centre, with 20-bed capacity.

In Goma, we have ended our support of the COVID-19 treatment centre in Munigi and handed all activities over to the Ministry of Health. The centre was previously used as an Ebola treatment centre by MSF teams. 

MSF has started production of reusable masks in Goma and Kinshasa. These masks are non-surgical masks and will be distributed to patients, their carers, and non-medical staff in the healthcare facilities that MSF supports.      

In Bukavu, we are assisting with the dignified and secure burial of patients who have died from COVID-19.   

In South Kivu, MSF has set up isolation centres in Baraka hospital, Kimbi hospital and Nyange Heath Centre for suspected COVID-19 patients. These centres will be able to care for 80 patients as well as provide mental health support. We are supporting the Ministry of Health with laboratory work and sample analysis.  

Our staff are supporting the Ministry of Health with training of healthcare workers in infection prevention and control measures as well as pre-triage, triage, screening and isolation for people with symptoms consistent with COVID-19, in all structures where we work. In some of the country’s hospitals and healthcare centres where MSF is already present, we are building isolation circuits within the structures and setting up additional beds for the isolation and care of potential COVID-19 patients. 

Speaking out Case Study

Rwandan Refugee Camps in Zaire and Tanzania 1994-1995

Following the 1994 Rwandan Genocide, nearly 2 million ethnic Hutus fled across the border into eastern DRC, as well as Tanzania and Burundi, where they settled in large refugee camps. Humanitarian access to the camps was severely limited, or outright denied; and refugees were subjected to targeted armed attacks by Rwandan and Burundian armies, as well as the AFDL (Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo) forces.

MSF tried to provide aid to both refugees and local populations caught in the fighting. These teams came face to face with the AFDL’s and the Rwandan army’s bloody methods, which included using humanitarian organisations as a lure to draw refugees out of hiding.

In the years since the atrocity, MSF released a detailed case study, highlighting the dilemmas that emerge from humanitarian involvement in conflict situations. The report outlines the decision for MSF staff to speak out.