The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Sud Kivu province has been an area of armed conflict for many years, with various rebel factions fighting for control over the resource-rich region.
The continued fighting has disrupted health services — which were weak to begin with — due to geographic isolation and poorly supported health workers.
In the health zone of Mulungu, there had been no delivery of medicines or supplies for more than six months. More than 105,000 people live in the remote area, where health issues include malaria, malnutrition and anemia. In April 2012, the USAID-funded Democratic Republic of Congo-Integrated Health Project (DRC-IHP) deployed a team of health workers from Bukavu to Mulungu, to transport more than 2,640 pounds of medicines and supplies; 2,700 insecticide-treated mosquito nets; and 50 containers of petrol to supply cold chain storage units for vaccines.
The full article continues at http://blog.msh.org/2012/10/24/delivering-medicines-in-drc/ on Management Sciences for Health’s Global Health Impact Blog.