GENEVA / DRC HUMANITARIAN

The head of the UN humanitarian office (OCHA) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) said the number of displaced people in the Kasai region increased by a hundred thousand in the last week to 1.27 million describing the number as “shocking and dramatic.” UNTV CH

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:02:22
• Production Date: 8 May 2017
• Asset Language: English
• Corporate Name: OFFICE FOR THE COORDINATION OF HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS - OCHA
• Subject Topical: CONFLICT SITUATION; HUMANITARIAN CRISIS; INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS
• Geographic Subject: DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
• MAMS Id: 1882301
• Parent Id: 1882301
• Alternate Title: unifeed170508e

Description

STORY: GENEVA / DRC HUMANITARIAN
TRT: 02:22
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 08 MAY 2017, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

Shotlist

RECENT - GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

1. Wide shot, Palais des Nations exterior

08 MAY 2017, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

2. Wide shot, press briefing room
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Rein Paulsen, Head of Office in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA):
“The first of January 2016 OCHA estimated that there were 1.6 million IDPs (Internally Displaced People) in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Fifteen months later, at the end of March 2017, as you will see in the factsheet that has been handed out, we found ourselves with an estimated 3.7 million IDPs in the country. That is an increase of more than 2 million refugees in the space of the last 15 months.”
4. Med shot, journalists
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Rein Paulsen, Head of Office in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA):
“The latest number we have for IDPs within those five provinces (in Kasais region) is now at 1.27 million; that is an increase of a hundred thousand in the last week. These numbers, I think you will agree, are shocking and dramatic.”
6. Close up, journalist
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Rein Paulsen, Head of Office in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA):
“Currently in the DRC, we estimate that there are 1.9 million children under the age of five severely acutely malnourished; which means these are children for whom an urgent human intervention is required to avoid loss of life or significant negative health outcomes for them.”
8. Close up, journalist
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Rein Paulsen, Head of Office in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA):
“One of the key drivers for this acute level for malnutrition also relates to the overlap between epidemics and the health situation and what is happening in the country. So last year in the DRC we had to face a cholera epidemic at scale. We had to face a measles epidemic with close to 30,000 proven cases in the former Katanga province. We had an outbreak of yellow fever that required the distribution of some 10.2 million doses of yellow fever vaccines”.
10. Close up, name tag
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Rein Paulsen, Head of Office in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA):
“What we have in the Kasais is a protection crisis of massive proportions and the first people that it impacts are the Congolese unfortunately themselves, and they are the ones that are suffering displacement and also in terms of killings unfortunately they are really the ones that are centre where it is taking place”.
12. Close up, journalist
13. Med shot, journalists

Storyline

The head of the UN humanitarian office (OCHA) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) said the number of displaced people in the Kasai region increased by a hundred thousand in the last week to 1.27 million describing the number as “shocking and dramatic.”

Speaking to reporters in Geneva today (07 May) Rein Paulsen said the number of displaced people in the DRC had increased by over 2 million over 15 months bringing the total number of displaced persons to 3.7 million. He said many of the newly displaced populations -- more than one million people -- fled the violence that erupted last August in the in the five provinces of the Greater Kasai region, also known as the Kasais. Paulsen said the region was facing a “protection crisis of massive proportions” as it reportedly faced some especially violent attacks last week on government workers including the killing and beheading of education inspectors going to primary schools and local transportation staff.

Paulsen also expressed concern regarding the growing incidence of attacks on aid workers adding that this limits access to populations in need, especially children. He estimated that there are 1.9 million children under the age of five “severely acutely malnourished.” Paulsen noted that a “key driver” of malnutrition was an “overlap between epidemics and the health situation and what is happening in the country.” He said the DRC faced a cholera epidemic, a measles epidemic, and a yellow fever outbreak that required the distribution of some 10.2 million doses of yellow fever vaccines.

In addition to the 3.7 million internally displaced people, there are about 460,000 Congolese currently living as refugees in the nine countries neighbouring the DRC.