Malteser International has delivered at least two and a half tonnes of emergency medical supplies and essential medicines to the doctors in Faradje, in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the theatre last December of pillage, devastation and rapes.

With the support of the European Union, the Order of Malta’s Relief Corps has responded to the emergency in cooperation with local authorities and organizations after the hospital in Faradje was set on fire and medicines and equipment looted. Another two health centres and over a thousand houses were burnt down.

To tackle the escalating civil war that has already caused the exodus of 850,000 people, in recent months Malteser International has stepped up its medical and humanitarian assistance to over 7000 victims of the fighting in the south Kivu region, many of whom traumatized after having witnessed massacres and rape. Cereals, vegetables, oil and salt were handed out to some 80,000 people between November and the end of January. The Order’s Relief Corps has been supporting health units in Faradje since 2006, within the framework of humanitarian interventions countrywide.