Despite Agreement, Peace Still Unfelt in Democratic Republic of Congo

By Crystal Wells

Photo: Alyssa Banta

A man and a boy carry firewood outside Kibumba IDP Camp. After fleeing their homes to escape violence, Congolese IDPs resettle in communities like Kibumba where they live in makeshift homes with little to no social services. Operating a health center in Kibumba, IMC is one of the few support systems available to these IDPs.

April 2008 -- After 20 years of relentless fighting that left an estimated 5.4 million dead and another three million displaced, in late December the Congolese government set out to mend the crisis through diplomatic means. Inviting not only the international community, but also the 23 armed groups that have rivaled for land and power in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) North and South Kivu provinces, the formal peace conference represented the only bloodless attempt for the groups to reach a settlement in almost 10 years. Under the watchful eye of the United Nations, European Union, African Union, and United States, the Congolese government, and all rivaling militias signed a formal ceasefire that has been called “a process to achieve a sustainable path to peace.”

While the ceasefire nodded to the world that the disputing groups could come to an agreement, the Congolese people, and the NGOs who service them, have not yet found footing on the peaceful path that was hoped for. Nearly two months after the peace accord was signed, the hills of North Kivu, DRC’s most volatile province, are far from still, as armed groups have predatorily torn through the countryside, laying claim to whatever land they can before additional UN peace-keeping forces are deployed. While the militias try to sink their flags into another hillside, International Medical Corps (IMC) continues to support the victims of the Congo wars even as the merciless conflict takes an unexpected shift.

Active in DRC since 1999, International Medical Corps has taken a two-pronged approach to humanitarian assistance in North Kivu. Unlike other NGOs operating there, IMC works not only at the camp-level, but also in the communities to service approximately 150,000 internally displaced people (IDP) in the Goma Territory. Within camps, IMC creates temporary health facilities that offer 24-hour, immediate care to IDPs seeking treatment for malnutrition, disease, injury, and other sometimes fatal consequences of war. IMC also supports existing government facilities to meet health needs of vulnerable populations in he communities surrounding the camps.

This strategy furthers International Medical Corps’ mission to not only provide relief, but to build the local capacity so that long-term, sustainable development is achieved. By training locals and working with the Ministry of Health(MoH), IMC enables the community – and the government that supports them – to handle current and future challenges. In an environment where hundreds of thousands shift as a result of sporadic violence, this strategy is effective not only as an emergency response measure, but as a long-term development tactic.

“Providing assistance only in camps does not acknowledge that populations in DRC are constantly vulnerable to migration,” says Dr. Birame Sarr, International Medical Corps country director in DRC. “In a country where it is impossible to see the frontline, it is only a temporary solution to have a presence in IDP camps alone because these populations will likely move in response to violence. By supporting a network of community hospitals in North Kivu, we are working to ensure that permanent structures are available to provide reliable care, even as populations come and go.”

Photo: Alyssa Banta

Cradling one child in her arms and another strapped to her back, a Congolese mother seeks treatment from an IMC nurse for her malnourished child. While violence has killed thousands of civilians in DR Congo, the silent effects of war, like malnutrition and disease, has killed thousands more, particularly children.

Empowering the community, 80 percent of International Medical Corps’ staff members are themselves displaced, and all of its operations, from assessment to execution, are done in partnership with the MoH. Sarr believes it is this degree of community involvement that enables IMC to remain as a long-term, effective presence in DRC despite the environment’s constant volatility. “By training locals to become midwives, nurses, community health workers, and other aid workers, they become the permanent contributors to public health,” says Sarr. “If an IMC-serviced camp is forced to migrate, these skill sets move with them to help their next receiving community.”

“This is a strategy that not only treats those people who walk through our health clinic doors,” adds Woseh Gobeh, International Medical Corps program coordinator for North Kivu. “The model lays a foundation for the long-term health care development that is both adaptable and transferable. In an environment like DRC, it is these skill sets that can make the difference between life and death.”

Now, in the new dynamic that surfaced after the peace agreement, International Medical Corps is working to manage programs amidst the renewed scramble for territory. Surrounding IMC’s operations in Goma Territory, four armed groups are staking land rights with ferocious fervor, resulting in brutal, bloody clashes wherever those territory lines overlap. Encircled in the latest manifestation of instability, IMC expects more IDPs to escape the post-peace-agreement violence.

The deterioration in North Kivu’s security after the ceasefire has also made areas that were accessible to NGOs before the peace conference impenetrable. Even with the escort of UN peacekeeping forces, NGO access to some territories deep within the contested territories is impossible. The inability for NGOs to provide aid wherever needed, coupled by the reduced international presence following the ceasefire, has intensified the need for International Medical Corps’ strong local presence.

While the ceasefire was a hopeful development in DRC’s long-awaited peace, a recent study estimates that the death rates remain unchanged since civil war first erupted in 1998. Despite the international optimism that the peace agreement would push the rivaling groups to end their two-decade-long battle, the Congo wars still kill an estimated 45,000 each month – half of which are children – and produce some of the most vicious, extreme cases of rape and gender-based violence in the world.

“The peace agreement was good in the sense that everyone finally came together to debate and put something down on paper,” says Gobeh. “The agreement was only signed two months ago and positive things could still result, but whether the situation improves or declines, International Medical Corps is positioned to respond the immediate and long-term needs of DRC.”