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New data reveals that teams from Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and the DRC’s health ministry treated more than two victims and survivors of sexual violence every hour in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) last year.
In total, 25,166 victims sought care in 2023, marking the highest number ever recorded by MSF in the country, according to a report released on Monday, September 30. The data was gathered from 17 projects in five provinces, four of which are located in the conflict-ridden eastern DRC.
Most of the victims, primarily women and girls, were treated in displacement camps near Goma, the capital of North Kivu province. Eastern DRC has been plagued by decades of armed violence, with over 120 armed groups fighting for control of land, power, and mineral resources, while others claim to defend their communities.
Many of these groups have been accused of mass killings, rape, and other human rights abuses, contributing to the displacement of over six million people in the region.
Earlier this week, Human Rights Watch reported that both Rwanda’s and Congo’s armies have also been involved in the violence, committing abuses such as rapes and attacks on displacement camp residents, while obstructing humanitarian aid.
The alarming trend continues into 2024, with MSF teams having already treated 69% of last year’s total cases in the first five months alone.
