Throughout the Democratic Republic of Congo, diseases such as yellow fever, tuberculosis, cholera, HIV/AIDS and malaria spread killing 3 million Africans in the last five years. The poor medical facilities and people's inability to receive medical help have attributed to the exponential number of deaths. Less than one fourth of the people living in the DRC that have access to proper sanitation facilities, while less than half have access to clean water. Water-borne diseases spread easily due to the of the lack of clean drinking water.
The hospitals and health centers in the DRC are often understaffed and poorly equipped. They are unable to provide their patients with vaccines and normal day-to-day care. These terrible conditions circle back to the low productivity of the government and their lack of focus on the well being of their citizens. The doctors that do provide quality care are often in private practice or are paid by an outside organization that is helping to provide healthcare for the country. UNICEF and other organizations alike, help to provide needed vaccinations for people throughout the country.
While many countries have helped the DRC solve some of these health care problems, the extreme poverty and conflict that is present in the country makes it challenging for any advances to be made. In addition to the spread of diseases throughout the country, malnutrition is a common problem that many people face today. In the DRC, nearly 43% of children suffer from stunted growth and every one in ten children suffers from malnutrition.
DRC Hospital
Yellow Fever Epedimic
Picture from New York Times: Residents of the Kisenso district of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, received yellow fever vaccinations in August.
Throughout Africa, but primarily in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the yellow fever has been spreadingrapidly. If the disease is not controlled, there is a fear that the disease may spread worldwide. There have been very little precautions taken to limit the spread of the epidemic due to a shortage of available vaccines. Right now there are only seven million emergency vaccinations available to administer. The World Health Organization has claimed that they will dilute the vaccines with the hope that they will be able to treat five people compared to one person. Doing this will allow for a temporary protection from yellow fever for one year, rather than a lifetime immunity.
Yellow fever is spread by the same type of mosquito that spreads the Zika virus. Since December, there have been about 500 people who have been killed by yellow fever in The Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola. This is the largest outbreak of the disease in the region within the past 30 years. Fortunately, yellow fever is not spread as easily as other diseases, such as Ebola, because a vaccine were created several years ago to prevent it. While people are able to recover from yellow fever, it is still a deadly threat with a mortality rate of about 50 percent.
Bibliography
By Early December, They Had Vaccinated over 962,000 Children against Measles and Supported the Treatment of Nearly 30,000 Who Had Caught the Disease. "Democratic Republic of Congo." MSF USA. N.p., 21 Sept. 2016. Web. 05 Oct. 2016 "DR Congo." Our Africa. SOS Children, n.d. Web. 05 Oct. 2016. Gladstone, Rick. "Vaccine Shortage Could Spread African Yellow Fever Outbreak Abroad, Charity Warns." The New York Times. The New York Times, 16 Aug. 2016. Web. 4 Oct. 2016. USAID. "Global Health | Democratic Republic of the Congo | U.S. Agency for International Development." Global Health | Democratic Republic of the Congo | U.S. Agency for International Development. USAID, n.d. Web. 05 Oct. 2016. "Victims of a Forgotten Conflict." Youtube. Youtube, 22 Jan. 2016. Web. 5 Oct. 2016.