RDC: Province du Nord-Kivu – Communique Officiel No. 035 – Bureau Provincial du Parlement des Jeunes du Nord-Kivu relativement au Soutien de la Plainte du Bureau National Introduite a l’Auditorat General contre Jules Alengete en date du 27 Avril 2022 (27.04.2022)

RDC: Conseil de l’Apostolat des Laics Catholiques (CALCC) – Communique de Presse Conjoint des Laics Catholiques et Protestants relatif a la Situation du Pays (la RDC) – (24.04.2022)

RDC: Mouvement du 23 Mars (M23) – Communique Officiel (23.04.2022)

World Health Organization (WHO): Democratic Republic of Congo declares new Ebola outbreak in north-western province (23.04.2022)

The current outbreak is the sixth since 2018 alone – the most frequent occurrence in the country’s Ebola history.

BRAZZAVILLE, Congo (Republic of the), April 23, 2022 – The health authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo today declared an outbreak of Ebola after a case was confirmed in Mbandaka, a city in the north-western Equateur Province. This is the third outbreak in the province since 2018.

So far, just one case has been confirmed. The patient, a 31-year-old man, began experiencing symptoms on 5 April and after more than a week of care at home, sought treatment at a local health facility. On 21 April, the patient was admitted to an Ebola treatment centre for intensive care but died later that day. Having recognized the symptoms, health workers immediately submitted samples to test for Ebola virus disease. Investigations to determine the source of the outbreak are ongoing.

“Time is not on our side,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the World health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa. “The disease has had a two-week head start and we are now playing catch-up. The positive news is that health authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have more experience than anyone else in the world at controlling Ebola outbreaks quickly.”

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is experiencing its fourteenth Ebola outbreaks since 1976. The current outbreak is the sixth since 2018 alone – the most frequent occurrence in the country’s Ebola history. Previous outbreaks in Equateur Province were in 2020 and 2018, with 130 and 54 recorded cases respectively.

Efforts to stem the current outbreak are already underway. The deceased patient received a safe and dignified burial, which involves modifying traditional funeral ceremonies in a way that minimizes the risk of contagious fluids infecting attendees. Anyone who came in contact with the patient are also being identified and their health will be monitored. The health facility where the patient received care has been decontaminated.

WHO experts based in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are supporting the national authorities to ramp up key outbreak response areas including testing, contact tracing, infection prevention and control, treatment as well as working with communities to support the public health measures to prevent infections.

Vaccination is set to kick off in the coming days. The country already has stockpiles of the rVSV-ZEBOV Ebola vaccine available in the cities of Goma and Kinshasa. Vaccines will be sent to Mbandaka and administered through ‘ring vaccination’ strategy—where contacts and contacts of contacts are vaccinated to curb the spread of the virus and protect lives.

“Many people in Mbandaka are already vaccinated against Ebola, which should help reduce the impact of the disease,” said Dr Moeti. “All those who were vaccinated during the 2020 outbreak will be revaccinated.”

Ebola is a severe, often fatal illness affecting humans and other primates. Case fatality rates have varied from 25% to 90% in past outbreaks. There is now effective treatment available and if patients receive treatment early, as well as supportive care, their chances of survival improve significantly.

RDC: Front Commun pour le Congo (FCC) – Declaration Politique des Deputes Nationaux Membres du Front Commun pour le Congo (FCC), en Rapport avec la Convocation de la Seance Pleniere de ce Vendredi 22 Avril, 2022 (22.04.2022)

RDC: Cadre de Concertation National de la Societe Civili (CCNSC-RDC) – Declaration en len avec la Revision de la loi Electorale (20.04.2022)

RDC: President National du Parti du Peuple pour la Reconstruction et la Democratie (PPRD) – Communique Officiel (20.04.2022)

RDC: Ministere de l’Amenagement du Territoire – Communique de Presse / Mise au Point (20.04.2022)

North Kivu: MONUSCO Encourages the Population of Kabasha to Collaborate with the Security forces (18.04.2022)

The goal is to recreate a climate of trust between the population and the security forces and thus promote a more protective environment.

KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo, April 18, 2022 – Collaboration between the population and the Security Forces is key in the implementation of the Protection of Civilians’ mandate by MONUSCO Force and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC).

To make this partnership effective, MONUSCO Civil Affairs office organized, on April 8 in Kabasha, a locality about twenty km south-west of Beni, an awareness session on collaboration between the authorities, the population and the defense and security forces.

This sensitization session brought together community leaders, political and military authorities, representatives of women’s associations and youth movements. The goal is to recreate a climate of trust between the population and the security forces and thus promote a more protective environment.

During the exchanges, Major Wilned Chawinga, commander in charge of civil-military relations from MONUSCO Intervention Brigade (FIB), insisted on the fact that the return of peace in the territory of Beni requires collaboration among the populations who must provide the information and the Defense and Security Forces, who use the information to better protect them. He recalled that the first actor in the protection of civilians is the population itself.

Young people involved in peace

The representative of the youth in Kabasha, Faustin Katembo, hailed the gradual return of peace and the revival of the rural farming activities which is triggering the development process in the region. He called on the young people to fight the rumors on social networks and to make a real commitment to collaborate with the Security Forces: “With regard to the protection of civilians, we have been informed that the first protector of the civilian, it’s themselves. Let the young people therefore engage in the collaborating with the security forces so that peace returns to our territory and to our province. May the young people commit to denouncing suspicious cases so that security officers can intervene at the appropriate time,” he stressed.

He then praised the achievements made by MONUSCO, citing in particular on capacity-building for the police, logistical support for the FARDC, human rights defense, support for the judicial institutions, but also Mission’s involvement in the mobilization of young people drawn from armed groups, through the construction and rehabilitation of infrastructures. This helps them reintegrate socially and economically into their community.

For his part, Katembo Mastaki, deputy head of the student coordination in the territory of Beni insisted on the importance for young people to get involved in peace issues: “We must collaborate with MONUSCO and the FARDC and not trust the rumors accusing the defense and security forces. Peace is everyone’s business. We must get involved to changing the situation. The mechanisms to be established are confidence in our authorities. We understood that MONUSCO is there to work with the government, it supports the FARDC and intervenes within the limits of its mandate”, explained Katembo Mastaki before launching this appeal to young people: “To the young people of Kabasha and especially to the students, we ask them not to join armed groups, but to work with the authorities to put an end to insecurity in the region”.

Women’s leadership in the service of peace

Charmante Kapitula, head of the Association of Women for Peace and Integral Development, believes that women’s leadership can help bring peace to the territory of Beni. “I focused my presentation on the leadership by women in the restoration of peace in the territory of Beni. The women who are victims of insecurity must collaborate with the local authorities to whom they must transmit the information. They must also collaborate with the defense and security forces,” explained Charmante Kapitula.

She encouraged women to play a major role in securing the region. “MONUSCO, through community engagement, push women to join local protection committees. This allows us to et the security situation improved in our respective areas,” concluded Charmante Kapitula.

RDC: Front Commun pour le Congo (FCC) – Declaration des Deputes Nationaux – Membres du FCC sur le Processus Electoral en RDC (14.04.2022)