DR CONGO, South Kivu
According to Africa Region Human Development & DRC Ministry of Health (2005), DRC has been in long and destructive conflict, which followed years of economic crisis making the country now ranged among the poorest countries in the world.
In terms of health status, this province is one of the worst in DRC. Over one third of under-five children are chronically malnourished (stunting), and 16% suffer from acute malnutrition (wasting), with under five mortality of 220 per 1000 and maternal mortality among the highest anywhere, estimated at 1,289 per 100,000 live births (Africa Region Human Development & DRC Ministry of Health, 2005).
In the Territory and Health Zone of Fizi, the cholera is endemic due to limited access to safe water, adequate sanitation and poor hygiene practices and while Tearfund is supplying the region in potable water, it has been decided to introduce the practical approach (CHC Methodology) as a strategy that fully involves the community to significantly reduce the ill health conditions of poor hygiene and sanitation as well as malnutrition.
Within the SWIFT consortium (Sustainable WASH in Fragile Contexts) Africa AHEAD has to provide training and monitoring for the purpose of improving community health and hygiene practice in the 24 communities in Fizi Territory in the province of South Kivu in DRC.
- Country: DR Congo
- Period: 2014 -2015
- Donor: DFID
- Partner: Tearfund
- Province: South Kivu
- District: Fizi
- 2 Sectors: Baraka & Katanga
- Number of Villages: 20
- Number of households: 3,497
- Number of CHCs: 20
- Number of Members: 3,497
- Percentage CHC coverage:
- Number of EHTs:
- Number of CHC facilitators:24
- Number of beneficiaries: 17,485
- Cost of Training: US$51,280
- Cost per beneficiary: US$2.93
The programme of CHC application in Baraka and Katanga Sectors started by a two day orientation meeting for BCZ, Ministry of Plan and Tearfund staff in which we exposed on the principles of CHC methodology and its application in DRC. The orientation meeting ended by a joint planning of CHC activities with specific dates and shared roles and responsibilities among different local implementers. All participants were satisfied by the approach and it was stated by the representative of Ministry of plan that the CHC methodology will be applied in the all Kivu (Maniema, South Kivu and North Kivu Provinces).
So far, after the orientation meeting, we completed the baseline survey and data are being processed to be available by June 2015
Training of CHC facilitators (13th -18th April 2015)
During the training were present the Heads selected villages and 24 facilitators, one was put in jail just after the start up of the training and another went to the hospital and both are still absent.
The government was represented by the MoH (owner of the WASH program including CHC activities), the Department of Rural Development, the Department of Rural Hydraulics, and the Representative of the Baraka Sector.
Tearfund through WASH department supported the training and Africa AHEAD facilitated the training (Joseph Katabarwa and Amans Ntakarutimana).