In Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), fighting between the Congolese army and its allies against the armed group M23 has forced an estimated 1.5 million people from their homes, contributing to one of the world's largest and longest displacement crises.
Since February, an escalation of violence in South Kivu province has driven another exodus of civilians, many of whom were already displaced by the conflict in neighboring North Kivu. Many have settled in camps where they live in makeshift shelters without adequate access to water, hygiene, and food.
Through our medical and humanitarian work in Bugeri camp in South Kivu, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams have met displaced people living the everyday consequences of the M23 crisis. Here’s one story they shared with us.
“Before the war, I grew and harvested beans and potatoes. I cooked them and served them to my children, who were healthy. Until we fled the fighting, none of them had been malnourished. Today, feeding them has become difficult. The day the village was attacked, we were in the field. I fled with my children and the neighbors. Together we arrived at the town of Shasha but the fighting resumed and we fled again, this time to the Bugeri camp [in South Kivu]. [During] the flight I lost my husband. I don't know which path to take to find him. It's already been four months. Here, we live in a shelter I made from branches and palm fronds. We have no protection against the rain. I wish I could find a tarp so we could [keep] dry. To earn a little money, I carry packages on my head from the market to the port. With it, I feed my children. I am visiting the Kishinji Health Center. There, I receive care and my child is monitored. One evening, when I had just given him something to eat, he started vomiting and then had diarrhea. The next morning, I brought him to the health center. It was there I was told he was suffering from malnutrition. Since we left the village, we rarely eat.” - Florence
