Congo Kinshasa
Kinshasa health situation slightly improving

afrol News, Kinshasa, 30 May - New health data presented by the Urban Health Inspection shows that the health situation in the Congolese capital Kinshasa is slightly improving. Grave problems however remain, as there are 138,350 registered malaria cased in the city of an estimated six million inhabitants.

The health data, produced every trimester, were published in the Kinshasa newspaper Le Phare this weekend. Although the general conclusion is a slight improvement from year 2000, the more detailed reading does not call for joy.

Kinshasa inhabitants suffer from the main tropical killers; typhoid fewer and bacillary dysentery. The most frequent deadly disease however remains malaria, as it is on the African continent at large. Malaria control and prevention has been problematic, given the city's environmental health situation, particularly considering water and sanitation. 

Other tropical diseases are also observed, although on a lower scale. Cholera cases prevail, but have dropped. Measles are also observed, but the city's child vaccination program has had significant positive results. There are also reports of a possible case of Ebola haemorrhagic fever. The latter, which remains without confirmation, is isolated at the University Clinics of Kinshasa.

Dr. Miakala Miala, leader of the Urban Health Inspection, presented the statistics, saying the balance sheet should be of great assistance to national and international health care organisations. Epidemiological surveillance would be made more effective thanks to medical observation registers, provided to health administrative subdivisions in Kinshasa by the Inspection, Miala claimed.

Dr. Miala did not mention the HIV/AIDS situation in Kinshasa. The African pandemic has so far not been given the attention it deservers in Congo Kinshasa, according to foreign health workers shocked by the low awareness of Kinshasa inhabitants. HIV/AIDS numbers for Congo are unknown, but estimated to be relatively high, the country bordering with countries in eastern and southern Africa that have high AIDS rates.

The health situation in Kinshasa has slowly improved since the city experienced its most difficult times when it was sacked by rebels and Ugandan/Rwandan troops in September 1998. During the 1998 attacks on the city, Kinshasa was deprived of its access to electricity and food. Kinshasa inhabitants were unable to find basic commodities on the market, and the food shortage affected the health situation of the urban dwellers. 

With the rebels far inland and a relatively stable situation in the city, also the health situation slowly is improving. Numbers for the country at large are not known, but international aid organisations have reported of extremely high mortality rates in the regions affected by war, indicating that the situation there rather has deteriorated than improved.

By Didiér Veka, afrol DRC, and Rainer Chr. Hennig

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