In 2009 the people in eastern Congo suffered continuous violence from different armed groups. In North Kivu, Médecins Sans Frontières provided emergency care and healthcare in the places most affected by armed conflict. In Rutshuru, a 280-bed hospital, three surgical teams worked round the clock, performing an average of 15 operations per day. Médecins Sans Frontières also extended its activities by opening units to treat burns victims and provide neonatal care in Rutshuru hospital. Mobile surgical teams went to Bunyakiri, Kayna and Nyamilima, three sites affected by violence whose people, until then, had had no access to surgical care.

Médecins Sans Frontières continued to work in Dungu hospital and began to support hospitals and health centres in Faradje, Niangara, and Dingila. In all project locations, our teams provided psychosocial support, vaccination against measles, and distributed relief items to thousands of displaced people. Emergency teams based in Kinshasa, Lubumbashi and Kisangani responded to 12 emergencies including a cholera epidemic in Katanga and an outbreak of Ebola fever in West Kasai. Médecins Sans Frontières carried out vaccination campaigns against measles, inoculating more than 400,000 children mainly in the provinces of Orientale, Maniema, and North Kivu.

We continued to provide treatment to more than 2,000 patients with HIV/AIDS in the capital Kinshasa. At our hospital in Lubutu, Maniema province, more than 120 patients a month were hospitalised. In Katanga, Médecins Sans Frontières ran two hospitals in Shamwana and Dubie, and offered basic and maternal healthcare in 12 health centres. For the third year running, Médecins Sans Frontières organised a camp providing specialised surgery for women suffering from obstetric fistulas. Our team also operated on women suffering from fistula in North Kivu and Maniema provinces.

Médecins Sans Frontières has worked in the Democratic Republic of Congo since 1981.