Until recently, Lomera was a quiet lakeside village, barely known to most residents of South Kivu, DRC. That changed overnight last December when gold was discovered in its hills.
- •In less than a year, the population exploded from 1,500 to more than 12,000, turning the village into a sprawling chaos of mineshafts and makeshift shelters.
- •The rush has been intensified by economic insecurity caused by clashes between the M23/AFC armed group, the Congolese army (FARDC), and their Wazalendo militia allies.
- •Poor sanitation has then fuelled a rapid spread of cholera in the fast growing town, as the DRC’s abundant minerals, including gold and rare minerals, continue to trigger rushes, compounding the Central African countries multiple issues.
“Everything that could possibly fuel a cholera outbreak is here,” says Mathilde Cilley, MSF medical adviser. “We’re seeing severe overcrowding, barely any clean water, open defecation on the hills, and a total lack of waste management.”
“While insecurity is a factor, the closure of airports in Bukavu and Goma has had an even greater impact, severely restricting our ability to deliver lifesaving aid,” she says.
Cholera is endemic in that part of DRC, and the lake is contaminated by the bacteria, but an epidemic of this scale is unusual. The first 13 cases in Lomera were reported on 20 April.
Within two weeks, that number soared by over 700% to 109 cases—a figure likely underestimated. Today, the town accounts for 95% of cholera cases in the Katana health zone, an area that is home to more than 275,000 people.
While emergency teams have responded to the ongoing crisis, the situation has been worsened by the ongoing halts on international aid.