Republic of the Congo: helping displaced persons
24-04-2003 News Release 03/43
On 18 April, the ICRC completed the distribution of emergency supplies to displaced persons living south of Brazzaville.
The supplies consisted of 5,420 blankets, 3,290 sleeping mats, 3,290 mosquito nets, 2,670 cooking pots and 1,870 buckets, and priority was given to people who had missed the October 2002 aid distribution carried out by other organizations. Since that date, the nu/mber of people at these locations has doubled to 11,000.
Most of the recipients come from Pool province and had moved to the Brazzaville area because of the fighting. They are living at eight locations near the southern entrance to the capital, and along the main road, Route Nationale No. 1 . The ICRC delivered supplies to one or two of these locations every day from 10 to 18 April.
Certain categories of person received additional aid. These included those with limited scope for earning an income, widows with dependent children and elderly people with no family to look after them.
At one location occupied by over 3,500 displaced persons, ICRC engineers repaired a well equipped with a hand-pump, disinfected another well and installed 52 showers. At another location, the ICRC set up 30 showers for 2,000 people.
Further information: Olivier Bangerter, ICRC Brazzaville, tel.: ++ 242 81 12 08