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Democratic Republic of the Congo
In the DR Congo, where insecurity and war prevail as well as political instabilities, the population live in very hard conditions which make them poor. There are many problems concerning health – here are some of the serious ones.
- Child malnutrition is a highway for all diseases – it is thanks to malnutrition that children become fragile and vulnerable and, as a consequence, their death rate is increasing every year.
- Poor families have no way to get access to health care of high quality.
- Poverty being the consequence of the wars, political instability and low purchasing power, means many families are unable to get access to health consultation – even those who are raped for a clinic check up – and they can't afford medicine. Because of this, many use traditional practices such as witchcraft; they even use medicine without consulting a doctor. This practice is harmful for many.
Death of mothers and new babies
Illiteracy is one of the facts that pushes parents to accept early age marriage for their daughters when they are as young as 14. As a consequence, the death rate for both mothers and babies is increasing. Many unwanted pregnancies add to the problem. Parents fail to take care of their children and sometimes they have an abortion which leads to serious gynaecological consequences. There are also sexually transmitted infections such as HIV/AIDS thanks to prostitution which results from the failure of child-care in poor families.
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