Category Archives: Conflict and Crisis

Universal Day of the Elimination of Violence Against Women

More and more minors are becoming victims of violence
 

“Early and forced marriages, unwanted pregnancies linked to sexual abuse, unsafe abortion practices of pregnancy (IVG): in the DRC, and particularly in South Kivu, gender-based violence is everywhere. And it is not decreasing, or not very noticeably. We know that from an OCHA report in 2020, GBV increased by 86% that year compared to 2019, this violence concerns more and more minors and young girls under 18 years of age are becoming pregnant. In the face of this violence, stigmatization and lack of care are still common for many victims,” explains Eric Wynants, deputy coordinator of DotW in DRC, who has coordinated the project to combat violence in Panzi.

In South Kivu, a region marked by ongoing conflict and an alarming humanitarian situation, rape has long been used as a weapon of war by the warring parties. Today, rape has spread in Congolese society, particularly through demobilized former child soldiers, militiamen, ex-rebels and various armed groups. The victims seem to be increasingly young, sometimes under the age of ten. This violence is in addition to other violence committed in a domestic or criminal context. In order to help the victims of this violence, DotW intervenes in the territory of Uvira and in the city of Bukavu. Our organization carries out community prevention activities, offers health care and provides psychosocial support, promotes the reintegration of victims into the workforce and refers them for legal advice. Given the tense security situation and the lack of humanitarian organizations present in certain areas, the intervention of DotW is essential.
 

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Universal Day of the Elimination of Violence Against Women

More and more minors are becoming victims of violence
 

“Early and forced marriages, unwanted pregnancies linked to sexual abuse, unsafe abortion practices of pregnancy (IVG): in the DRC, and particularly in South Kivu, gender-based violence is everywhere. And it is not decreasing, or not very noticeably. We know that from an OCHA report in 2020, GBV increased by 86% that year compared to 2019, this violence concerns more and more minors and young girls under 18 years of age are becoming pregnant. In the face of this violence, stigmatization and lack of care are still common for many victims,” explains Eric Wynants, deputy coordinator of DotW in DRC, who has coordinated the project to combat violence in Panzi.

In South Kivu, a region marked by ongoing conflict and an alarming humanitarian situation, rape has long been used as a weapon of war by the warring parties. Today, rape has spread in Congolese society, particularly through demobilized former child soldiers, militiamen, ex-rebels and various armed groups. The victims seem to be increasingly young, sometimes under the age of ten. This violence is in addition to other violence committed in a domestic or criminal context. In order to help the victims of this violence, DotW intervenes in the territory of Uvira and in the city of Bukavu. Our organization carries out community prevention activities, offers health care and provides psychosocial support, promotes the reintegration of victims into the workforce and refers them for legal advice. Given the tense security situation and the lack of humanitarian organizations present in certain areas, the intervention of DotW is essential.
 

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Testimonial of two survivors of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo

“I tell my daughters: refuse the gift of an unknown man, who will inevitably expect something in return.”

Myriam (not her real name), widow, mother of three children, from Makobola, says: “It was July 2021. I was working in the fields. I was sexually assaulted by three men when I was alone. I went home drained, down and distressed. I didn’t speak anymore, neither to my children, nor to the village chief. I didn’t leave the house for days which alerted Bobylia, the focal point of the protective community. I confided in him.

Myriam then went to the Makobola health center, supported by DotW.
“When I arrived, I couldn’t sleep, I felt guilty, I was discouraged. Thanks to the psychological support I received from DotW psychosocial assistant, I was finally able to talk to my children.”

Today, having become a member of the ‘protective community’, a DotW project, Myriam is raising awareness about sexual violence among other Makobola residents.
“I advise victims of violence to go to medical facilities. I also teach my daughters to be careful, to avoid insecure places, and that they should not accept gifts from foreign men, who will inevitably expect something in return.”
 
Photography

© Caroline Thirion
 
 

The post Testimonial of two survivors of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo appeared first on Doctors of the World.

Testimonial of two survivors of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo

“I tell my daughters: refuse the gift of an unknown man, who will inevitably expect something in return.”

Myriam (not her real name), widow, mother of three children, from Makobola, says: “It was July 2021. I was working in the fields. I was sexually assaulted by three men when I was alone. I went home drained, down and distressed. I didn’t speak anymore, neither to my children, nor to the village chief. I didn’t leave the house for days which alerted Bobylia, the focal point of the protective community. I confided in him.

Myriam then went to the Makobola health center, supported by DotW.
“When I arrived, I couldn’t sleep, I felt guilty, I was discouraged. Thanks to the psychological support I received from DotW psychosocial assistant, I was finally able to talk to my children.”

Today, having become a member of the ‘protective community’, a DotW project, Myriam is raising awareness about sexual violence among other Makobola residents.
“I advise victims of violence to go to medical facilities. I also teach my daughters to be careful, to avoid insecure places, and that they should not accept gifts from foreign men, who will inevitably expect something in return.”
 
Photography

© Caroline Thirion
 
 

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Our COVID-19 Response in Haiti, South Sudan and Ukraine

Infection, Prevention and Control   
 

The first objective in our COVID-19 programs was to ensure that the healthcare facilities were prepared for a COVID-19 outbreak in their region. The DotW team carried out training sessions to prepare healthcare staff and community health workers on COVID-19. These sessions focused on IPC strategies (quarantine, isolation, etc) as well as providing information on the COVID-19 virus including its etiology, transmission, symptoms, risk, diagnosis and treatment. Staff were also trained on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS), particularly within the context of COVID-19. 

Besides training healthcare staff on COVID-19, Doctors of the World donated Infection, Prevention and Control (IPC) supplies like PPE as well as medicine and medical equipment to the various healthcare facilities it supported in Haiti, Ukraine and South Sudan.  

Another key aspect of our COVID-19 response was raising community awareness by disseminating information about the virus to the public so that individuals were better equipped to recognize symptoms, prevent infection and seek out treatment. DotW prepared messages and presentations that were shared on the TV, radio, and across various social media platforms like Facebook. DotW had additionally partnered with local community leaders and organizations that could further amplify the message. 

In Ukraine, Doctors of the World organized phone consultations where individuals could call and receive the necessary information about COVID-19, as well as launched a video competition among children on how to prevent the spread of COVID-19. 

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Our COVID-19 Response in Haiti, South Sudan and Ukraine

Infection, Prevention and Control   
 

The first objective in our COVID-19 programs was to ensure that the healthcare facilities were prepared for a COVID-19 outbreak in their region. The DotW team carried out training sessions to prepare healthcare staff and community health workers on COVID-19. These sessions focused on IPC strategies (quarantine, isolation, etc) as well as providing information on the COVID-19 virus including its etiology, transmission, symptoms, risk, diagnosis and treatment. Staff were also trained on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS), particularly within the context of COVID-19. 

Besides training healthcare staff on COVID-19, Doctors of the World donated Infection, Prevention and Control (IPC) supplies like PPE as well as medicine and medical equipment to the various healthcare facilities it supported in Haiti, Ukraine and South Sudan.  

Another key aspect of our COVID-19 response was raising community awareness by disseminating information about the virus to the public so that individuals were better equipped to recognize symptoms, prevent infection and seek out treatment. DotW prepared messages and presentations that were shared on the TV, radio, and across various social media platforms like Facebook. DotW had additionally partnered with local community leaders and organizations that could further amplify the message. 

In Ukraine, Doctors of the World organized phone consultations where individuals could call and receive the necessary information about COVID-19, as well as launched a video competition among children on how to prevent the spread of COVID-19. 

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Doctors of the World response to humanitarian crisis in Eastern DRC

The Democratic Republic of Congo is facing a multitude of compounding crises with serious consequences for the civilian population.
 
Political instability, chronic conflict, and natural hazards, like volcanic activity and flooding, have left a large part of the population in need of humanitarian assistance. 

Doctors of the World (DotW) has drawn its attention to one region where populations are left vulnerable to a variation of health and security disasters. In the Fizi Highlands, civilians have found themselves trapped between two conflicting territories: the Minembwe and Itombwe. The region has endured violence and armed conflict for over a decade, however in the spring of 2020, there was an escalation in violence between the Mai-Mai and the Banyamulenge communities. Civilians have been further targeted as human rights organizations report cases of murder, rape, burning of villages, and looting of livestock. In response, the Armed Forces of the DRC have mobilized in the areas of violence, in order to put an end to the fights between armed groups.

The consequences of the conflict have also resulted in forced displacement, lack of access to essential services like healthcare and sanitation, as well as impacted the population’s food security. The situation remains tense as this conflict has caused division of the population by ethnicity, and individuals are forced to continuously move between territories to avoid further violence. According to OCHA, about 39,700 persons (approx. 7,940 households) were displaced during the violence in this region. Many internally displaced persons (IDPs) have been separated from their homes since 2019 and returns remain very low. 

In response to these conflicts, Doctor of the World ran a project, funded by USAID, that used multi-sectoral lifesaving interventions targeting the most vulnerable conflict-affected individuals in Itombwe and Minembwe territories in. The sectors of focus for this project included health, nutrition, water, hygiene and sanitation (WASH), and protection.

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Burkina Faso – A Compounding and Complex Humanitarian Crisis

Active in Burkina Faso since 2006,  Doctors of the World (DotW) has continued to provide aid as this humanitarian crisis unfolded. Our team has provided support through comprehensive, free, quality care for children under 5 years of age with severe malnutrition in health centers and regional hospitals in the Sahel and Center-North. They further assist state health personnel in outpatient care and in data collection and analysis, and management of referrals, in order to reduce maternal and infant mortality. 

Another key focus point is the training of health personnel, the maintenance of medical and technical equipment in health centers. DotW also works to provide primary health care, including mental health care for survivors of gender-based violence, to the most vulnerable people in the Sahel region and in the neighboring North-Central region. 

To meet the needs of the population, in 2020 Doctors of the World opened a humanitarian emergency program in Kongoussi, in the center-north of Burkina Faso, where there is a shortage of care. This program consists of mobile clinics that provide free primary healthcare, mental health and psychosocial support, as well as prevention and management of Gender-based Violence (GBV). Our efforts also focus on strengthening individual and community empowerment in terms of access to health rights. In 2021, DotW provided 103,764 medical consultations and treated 950 severely acute malnourished children. 

To help address this growing humanitarian crisis, Doctors of the World has received funding from the European Union this year of 800,000 euros, although the response of the international community is insufficient to meet the humanitarian needs from the country. It is crucial that the international community come to support Burkina Faso in their time of need. We must stand in support of Burkinabé communities, and work with them to resolve this crisis as quickly as possible. 

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World Refugee Day 2022

 
 
 
 
This holds true for all asylum seekers and refugees. However, many refugees from other countries as well as third state nationals or stateless people from Ukraine often do not enjoy the same access to fundamental rights and services. Now, it is time for governments to show that they do not distinguish between human beings in need according to their origin, gender, religion, or the color of their skin. No hierarchy must be put between people seeking protection. The right not to be discriminated against is enshrined in several international human rights treaties and the 1951 Refugee Convention specifically prohibits discrimination between refugees based on race, religion, or country of origin.

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Our Emergency Response in Ukraine

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