More than 200 health facilities in eastern Congo are running out of essential medicines as renewed fighting and dwindling humanitarian aid cripple the region’s fragile health system, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) disclosed on Wednesday.
The ICRC said its recent assessment of 240 hospitals and clinics in North and South Kivu revealed severe shortages of basic drugs and medical supplies. The two provinces have been at the heart of escalating clashes between Congolese forces and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels, whose rapid advance earlier this year worsened one of the world’s most dire humanitarian crises.
According to the organization, dangerous front-line conditions have made it nearly impossible to deliver medical supplies to affected areas, even when drugs are available elsewhere.
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François Moreillon, who heads the ICRC delegation in Congo, said thousands of lives are now at risk because hospitals are running out of medicine for malaria, HIV, tuberculosis and other life-threatening diseases.
He explained that many aid agencies supporting health centers have suspended or cut back their work due to funding shortfalls. More than 80 percent of facilities in the Kivu provinces no longer receive outside assistance and remain open only through the dedication of their local staff.
The ICRC also reported that many health workers have fled the conflict zones, leaving nearly half of the facilities it surveyed short-staffed.
Eastern Congo’s mineral-rich region has faced decades of armed violence involving over 100 militias, including the M23 group. The rebel movement seized major cities like Goma and Bukavu earlier this year, killing thousands and displacing millions.
While peace efforts have helped reduce large-scale clashes in recent months, sporadic fighting continues, leaving civilians caught between dwindling medical aid and persistent insecurity.
