World Humanitarian Day: video series shows threats to health care

19-08-2012

To mark World Humanitarian Day (19 August), we turn our attention to conflict areas where the efforts of ICRC staff and those of our partners have been compromised, including by direct attacks. The third in our three-part video series shows how threats to health care are costing lives in DR Congo.

DR Congo: threats to health care cost lives

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, humanitarian needs abound while those attempting to meet them are under threat. The looting of health-care centres is becoming more frequent and depriving entire communities of medical care for long periods. 

Mariam Akwera, the ICRC's health delegate in North Kivu, explains the direct effects on the population that derive from obstruction of access to health care and threats to ICRC staff and Congolese Red Cross volunteers.