Mens Danmark ikke har villet røre DR Congo med udviklingsbistand i årtier, går briterne nu ind med en massiv sundhedspakke til den vidtstrakte nation midt i Afrika, som grænser til ni lande, og hvor stort set alle tal for sundhed – fysisk som psykisk – ligger i den globale bund.
NAIROBI, 31 March 2013 (IRIN): The British government has announced a major new programme aimed at providing essential healthcare to six million people in the DR Congo (tidl. Zaire). The five-year, 270,7 million US dollar (ca. 1,5 mia. DKR) project will focus on rebuilding health facilities, training health workers, and supplying drugs and equipment.
Civil war has destroyed much of the country’s health infrastructure, as well as the road networks and vital services such as electricity, meaning patients often have to travel long distances to health centres that may not be equipped to handle their complications.
IRIN has put together a list of five health issues in DR Congo that require urgent attention:
Maternal and Child Health:
DR Congo’s maternal mortality (mødredødelighed) ratio is 670 deaths per 100.000 live births, with an estimated 19.000 maternal deaths annually.
The country has a severe shortage of health workers – less than one health professional is available per 1.000 people.
With 170 out of every 1.000 children dying before they reach the age of five and 10 percent of infants underweight, DR Congo has one of the worst child health indicators in the world.
It is one of five countries in the world in which about half of under-five deaths occur. Some of the biggest killers of children are diarrhoea (diarre), malaria, malnutrition and pneumonia (lungebetændelse).
Sexual violence:
Several studies report high levels of sexual violence perpetrated against women, children and men in DR Congo, both by armed groups and within the home.
One study, conducted in the North and South Kivu and Ituri in 2010, found that 40 percent of women and 24 percent of men had experienced sexual violence.
Between the stigma (social udstødelse) of rape and the dearth of decent health services in DR Congo, sexual violence often leaves survivors injured, infected with sexually transmitted illnesses and severely traumatized.
Some of the main requirements are first aid and trauma services, counselling, diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted infections, HIV post-exposure prophylaxis and access to contraception (svangerskabsforebyggende midler).
During a recent visit to eastern DR Congo, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague announced 312.110 dollar in new funding to support the NGO Physicians for Human Rights, which works at Panzi Hospital in South Kivu Province, “to help efforts to develop local and national capacity to document and collect evidence of sexual violence”.
Diarrhoeal diseases:
Læs videre på
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97761/Boost-for-healthcare-in-DRC
Se også telegrammet
http://www.u-landsnyt.dk/nyhed/03-06-06/finn-balslev-rystende-gensyn-med-congo-hospitalet
