In a context of growing insecurity, limited government commitment and reduced humanitarian funding, MSF launched several emergency responses to tackle epidemics across DRC – including one of the worst cholera epidemics in the last decade. In May, teams responded to an outbreak in Lomera, South Kivu, where lack of clean water and sanitation amid dramatic population growth for gold mining fuelled a 700 per cent increase in cholera cases within two weeks. Teams vaccinated 8,000 people within four days and treated more than 600 patients. Discharged patients received hygiene kits — buckets, water purification tablets, and soap — and health education to prevent future infections. MSF installed a lakeside water treatment facility and distribution point, delivering around 60,000 litres of clean water daily. One hundred latrines and 25 supervised handwashing points were set up across the settlement, including at restaurants and public gathering spots. Countrywide, MSF provided more than 2.28 million outpatient consultations and 470,000 routine vaccinations in our ongoing response to conflict and lack of healthcare.

$12.5 million of Canadian support went to MSF’s work in DRC in 2025.

Image caption: An MSF employee shows purification tablets used to generate a clean water supply for the population of Lomera, a mining town in South Kivu grappling with a cholera outbreak. Democratic Republic of Congo, 2025. © Sam Bradpiece/MSF