Armed rebel groups Hinders the fight against cholera in Nyamilima


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The population of Rutshuru in North kivu has recorded eighty cases of cholera attack at the Nyakakoma health center since September 24.

Ten cases are presently under medical supervision and one dead has been record from the epidemic so far. According to officials of the centre; this situation is as a result of the lack of drinking water. The local population is forced to drink water from the lake where a fishery is located in the area of ​​the health centre on the east coast of Lake Edward.
They also feared that the condition may worsen given the main problem is that of the presence of armed groups which has been preventing the NGOs to supply this area with chlorine.

Some of the NGOs have no access to Nyakakoma and others have simply disengaged following the rise of insecurity in the area. According to the testimonies of the inhabitants on the spot, the lack of latrines in the area has facilitated the spread of this epidemic. Nearly twenty houses share a single latrine making it easy to contact the illness.

The population now consumes water from the town of Ishasha even though the roads are blocked by the armed groups. This situation makes the people to think of the worse because they do not know how they will move from Nyakakoma to Ishasha in search of drinking water given that there is no more chlorine.

On July 7 in the morning, young people had blocked the road leading to Nyamilima-Ishasha, they were protesting against the FDLR attack the day before, in the town of Nyamilima located 40 km north-east of Rutshuru center. According to local sources, the Mai-Mai local band of soldiers and the Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda (FDLR) often organized such attacks in this part of North Kivu.

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