"I was at home when I saw the water come into my house right up to the roof,” said Anastasie Lusamba, who lives in Kinshasa, the capital city of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). “We left our house without taking anything with us [and] took refuge in a shed with hundreds of other families."
For several weeks, torrential rain and the rising Congo River have caused floods that have left 12 people dead and 1,177 houses destroyed, according to official figures. Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams are working in Limete, one of seven communes badly hit. Like Anastasie, many of the people affected were not able to escape with their belongings. Now, after losing everything, many have been left with no means of support.
“Today I've lost everything: my clothes, my kitchen utensils, my bed, and my goods,” said Marie Makese, who arrived with her family more than two weeks ago at the Mbukalisu site for displaced people in Saint Ngoza parish of Limete, which has been made available by a church to urgently accommodate families affected by the floods. "My children no longer have any school supplies. While the others go to school, they stay in the yard to play."
Addressing primary and mental health needs
"This land has often been used as a refuge for families when floods hit the Kingambwa district,” explained Dago Inagbe, MSF's Head of Mission in Kinshasa. “Before MSF arrived, some families found themselves living with up to 20 people in a shelter with a capacity of five. Because of the lack of space in these cramped makeshift dwellings, some people had to spend the night under the stars, without electricity or access to latrines and drinking water, exposing themselves to disease."
The rains caused rivers to overflow their banks, not only in Kinshasa but also in several other provinces of the country. The national authorities estimate that at least 600,000 people are affected in eight provinces: Sud Kivu, Kasaï Central, Kasaï, Tshuapa, Mongala, Tshopo, Haut Uele, and Kinshasa.
Since the beginning of January, MSF has deployed a logistical and medical team to meet the needs of 400 households affected—more than 2,500 people, mostly women and children. MSF has installed six latrines, six showers, 10 tents to shelter victims, lighting, and drinking water.
For medical needs, a mobile clinic provides primary health care and mental health care to victims, with a particular focus on people with disabilities, who are even more vulnerable in this type of disaster. The main pathologies recorded so far are malaria, urinary tract infections, and typhoid fever, which are linked to the poor living conditions. MSF teams at the clinic receive a minimum of 35 patients each day and have treated 150 patients for malaria, 80 for urinary infections, and 65 for typhoid fever.
“Some patients describe anxiety and suicide because they have lost everything,” said Inagbe. “We have already carried out 27 mental health consultations to help them. We have also distributed 350 mosquito nets in collaboration with the health zone." MSF has also deployed a team to Kananga in the Kasaï Central province to carry out a needs assessment with the aim of providing a humanitarian response.
Growing displacement—and growing needs
In collaboration with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, MSF is working to identify two other sites in Limete to extend assistance, as many needs have not yet been met.
"The provision of services is limited by the small size of the site,” Inagbe added. “At the Kingabwa site, for example, apart from our commitment, there is still a need for shelters, latrines, and showers to meet standards. And access to food remains one of the biggest challenges. We need to mobilize all the players involved to come to the aid of those affected."
