Nearly 90% of surveyed East Congo clinics out of medicines, Red Cross says

October 8 (Reuters) -More than 200 health facilities in war-hit eastern Congo have run out of medicines due to widespread looting and supply chain disruptions during fighting this year, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Wednesday.

The finding is part of a survey conducted last month of 240 health centres and clinics in North and South Kivu provinces. It is the largest such assessment the ICRC has carried out since a lightning advance by Rwanda-backed M23 rebels spurred fighting that has killed thousands.

Nearly nine out of 10 surveyed facilities were fully out of medicines.

Staff shortages affected 40% of facilities covered by the survey, 13% were completely nonfunctional and “many” reported consistent supply shortages going back to January, when M23 seized Goma, the largest city in the region.

Rwanda has long denied backing M23 and says its forces act in self-defense. But a group of U.N. experts said in a report in July that Kigali exercised command and control over the rebels.

The healthcare crisis has reached “a critical point” with armed conflict intensifying as humanitarian funding drops, said Francois Moreillon, head of the ICRC delegation in Democratic Republic of Congo.

The ICRC warned that the lives of residents are “at immediate risk” as malaria, HIV, tuberculosis, and other diseases go untreated.

Amani Habimana, a resident of Ruke town in Masisi territory in North Kivu province, was shot in the thigh while caught up in fighting between M23 combatants and a local militia.

Her family took her to multiple hospitals where doctors said they did not have the necessary supplies to treat her broken femur. She finally reached the city of Beni nearly two months after the shooting occurred.

Samson Muhindo Kalumbi, who works for the ICRC at the general hospital in Beni, said such cases were common, with many patients who struggle to find care ultimately arriving in Beni with infected wounds.

“We are losing many limbs due to the distance and the delay in accessing care,” he said.

The ICRC on Wednesday called on all parties to ensure the safe passage of health workers in the war-hit regions, which would help alleviate staff shortages.

M23 and Congo’s government did not immediately respond to requests for comment on ICRC’s findings.

(Reporting by Congo newsroom and Sonia Rolley in Paris; Writing by Robbie Corey-Boulet; editing by Patricia Reaney)