Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The Democratic Republic of Congo’s new leadership is under mounting pressure to diversify the country’s economy from its dependence on raw materials following the plunge in the price of cobalt. Economic experts currently visiting the country have a sobering figure on which to base …
Read More »Over 830,000 cholera vaccinations planned in DR Congo: WHO
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | More than 830,000 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s North Kivu province will be vaccinated against cholera, which has claimed over 240 lives this year, the World Health Organization said Monday. The campaign will be implemented by DR Congo’s health ministry with …
Read More »WHO won’t declare DR Congo Ebola an international health emergency
Threat remains of spread to Rwanda, Uganda, South Sudan A meeting of an emergency World Health Organisation Committee (WHO) committee has said the current outbreak of the deadly Ebola hemorrhagic fever in the DR Congo does not constitute a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) even if it has …
Read More »Ebola response in DR Congo ‘failing’ to contain outbreak: MSF
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | Efforts to curb the Democratic Republic of Congo’s worst Ebola outbreak are stumbling, medical charity MSF warned Thursday, blaming the role of the security forces in the response and their “toxic” relations with local communities. Seven months into the outbreak, “the Ebola response is failing to …
Read More »DR Congo’s Tshisekedi, ex-president agree to form coalition
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | DR Congo’s recently elected president, Felix Tshisekedi and his predecessor Joseph Kabila on Wednesday said they had decided to form a coalition government following talks. Despite Tshisekedi’s election — the first peaceful transition of power since the Democratic Republic of Congo gained independence from Belgium in 1960 — the …
Read More »Ebola treatment centre in eastern DR Congo reopens after attack
Beni, DR Congo | AFP | An Ebola treatment centre in eastern DR Congo has reopened after an attack by gunmen last Wednesday forced its closure, the health ministry announced. The centre, located in Butembo in the troubled province of North Kivu, reopened on Saturday, the health ministry said in a bulletin. Repairs were also …
Read More »DR Congo’s Tshisekedi holds coalition talks with Kabila
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | DR Congo’s recently elected president, Felix Tshisekedi, held talks on Sunday with his predecessor Joseph Kabila on forming a coalition government, a source in Kabila’s entourage told AFP. The talks would open the way to naming a prime minister who would form a coalition government to run the country, …
Read More »‘Golden handshake’ for DR Congo’s outgoing ministers
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | In the weeks leading up to Democratic Republic of Congo’s controversial election, those leaving power quietly passed two decrees guaranteeing themselves money and benefits that would ensure their financial security for decades to come. Ministers in the outgoing government of now ex-president Joseph Kabila awarded …
Read More »Tshisekedi vows to act on human rights as DR Congo’s new president
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Opposition leader Felix Tshisekedi vowed to enhance DR Congo’s respect for human rights on Thursday after he was sworn in as president, the country’s first-ever peaceful handover of power. Tshisekedi took the oath of office flanked by outgoing head of state Joseph Kabila, whose 18-year …
Read More »DR Congo Ebola death toll tops 400
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The death toll from the latest outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo has passed the 400 mark in the east and northeast, health authorities said Tuesday. “Since the start of the epidemic, the total number of cases is 658 — 609 confirmed and 49 probable. …
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