Riziki Chiza, a resident at the Bulengo Internally Displaced People camp near Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, spoke to the VOA while a measles vaccination campaign was underway in the camp. The deadly measles outbreak — along with a shortage of food — was a cause for worry for parents as four to five children were dying daily from the disease.
One million IDPs are the result of last year's resurgence of the M23 rebel group in eastern DRC. The fighting between rebels and the Congolese military has caused hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes and abandon their fields.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, 26 million people need humanitarian assistance and there are over 6.3 million internally displaced persons in the country, the highest number in Africa.
The U.N. recently warned the humanitarian crisis in the DRC "remains very acute" and is "compounded by many factors" including conflict. (AP)
World Refugee Day is marked annually on June 20. Follow #VOAAfrica for the latest refugee coverage from the Voice of America.
📸: VOA Africa/Paul Ndiho and Omary Kaseko
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