Mother with child patient at the mobile clinic consultations in Bukombo camp, Masisi region. Over half of the more than 40.000 medical consultations per year (2011) MSF provides in the region are for children under five years of age who are suffering from basic illnesses – bronchitis, parasite infections, diarrhoea, malnutrition.
More than 5 million people are believed to have died since the war in eastern Congo started. About a million and a half people have fled their villages and live in displaced camps.
Following an upsurge in fighting, MSF began assisting Masisi hospital and providing medical care for the populations in the camps around Masisi in mid-2007. Every day, MSF mobile teams penetrate deep inside the province, often crossing the front-lines. They provide medical care on site but transport urgent cases back to Masisi hospital. In the camps, MSF mobile teams organise curative consultations, antenatal care for pregnant women, consultations and care for victims of sexual violence. The mobile team consists of 7 nurses and is supervised by a medical doctor. No other form of health care is available to the camp population. In one year, over half of the more than 40.000 medical consultations (2011) MSF provides are for children under five years of age who are suffering from basic illnesses – bronchitis, parasite infections, diarrhoea, malnutrition.