Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is expressing deep concern over potential future funding reductions that could severely impact the health landscape in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo. This region has endured a protracted humanitarian crisis for years, with persistent supply chain challenges already straining its healthcare infrastructure.

Stéphane Doyon, a program manager with MSF France, elaborated on these anxieties, highlighting the critical ramifications. He pointed out that if North Kivu were to be excluded from the Global Fund’s initiatives, essential treatments currently supplied by the Global Fund to various health centers, not directly managed by MSF, would cease to arrive. MSF, he stressed, lacks the capacity to assume the Global Fund’s role across an entire province, which would inevitably lead to an extremely precarious health situation for the population.

Doyon further emphasized that malaria remains the leading cause of consultations at MSF’s health facilities in the region. For the organization, the paramount objective is to ensure the reintegration of robust malaria support for North Kivu. He described the province as one of the most critically affected health zones currently, battling not only malaria but also recurrent outbreaks of measles and cholera. The population, deeply scarred by ongoing conflict, is in dire need of sustained external assistance, a reality that underscores the urgency of maintaining vital funding for this vulnerable African region.