ReliefWeb

This document provides a mid-month update on major developments between the publication of UNHCR’s monthly Operational Updates.

Refugees

■ In the first half of January, over 200 arrivals from the Central African Republic (CAR) were reported in Ndu, Bas-Uele Province, by the Direction Générale de Migration (DGM). According to the Commission Nationale pour les Réfugiés (CNR), who visited the area, they were refugees who had to flee for a second time, after trying to return to CAR, but being pushed back into DRC by ongoing conflict. UNHCR confirms that a majority of them already hold refugee certificates, but there is a need to confirm their numbers. The security situation in CAR created fears that further influxes will take place; UNHCR is carrying out monitoring missions in the area.

■ Voluntary repatriations of Rwandan refugees resumed, with 53 repatriations from North and South Kivu Provinces between 1 and 15 January.

■ In Lusenda camp, South Kivu Province, 2,881 kitchen sets were distributed to Burundian refugee households (8,789 people), or 71% of the total planned. Distributions will continue depending on the availability of non-food items (NFIs), in order to cover all eligible refugees relocated to Lusenda in 2015.

■ 3,173 male condoms were distributed to Central African refugees in Mole camp by UNHCR’s partner ADES, as part of the fight against HIV/AIDS.

■ Individual plots of land were allocated to 470 Burundian refugee households (out of a total of 522) who had been relocated to Mulongwe settlement in August and September 2018. 100 households have already started to build shelters on these parcels.

■ Malaria was the most common disease faced by South Sudanese and Burundian refugees in DRC. There were a total of 554 malaria cases among South Sudanese refugees at Biringi and Meri settlements, and malaria caused 50% of medical consultations among Burundian refugees. There is a need to provide more mosquito nets coupled with sensitization on how to use them.

Internally Displaced People (IDPs)

■ Clashes in two locations in Ituri Province led to the displacement of an estimated 6,400 people from Djugu Territory to Mahagi Territory, according to UNHCR’s protection monitoring. In South Kivu, fighting led to displacements in the Ruzizi plains and Uvira high plateau.

■ UNHCR is alarmed by the Sexual and Gender-based Violence (SGBV) taking place in Rutshuru Territory, North Kivu Province. Among 683 kidnappings in the territory in 2018, 359 of victims were female, and 290 of the victims were raped. UNHCR is closely following the situation, and working on SGBV prevention and response.

■ With funding from UNHCR, the NGO HelpAge rehabilitated seven primary schools situated from Kamonia to Kamako, Kasai Province. Over 3,000 pupils attend these schools, including IDPs, returnees, Congolese children expelled from Angola, and host community children. The majority go to a school in Kamako, where hundreds of thousands of people have arrived after being expelled from Angola from October 2018. Once in poor condition and made of sticks and leaves, the schools now have metal roofs, doors, and tarpaulin structures.

■ A shelter project is underway in return villages around Kalemie, Tanganyika Province. 600 beneficiaries were identified and received tools to make adobe bricks, which will be used to construct shelters. The project, implemented by UNHCR’s partner AIRD, encourages local construction methods.