DRC: Fighting preventable deaths through community care in Salamabila

In 2021, in the Salamabila health zone, in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the community health workers reported more than 360 community deaths to the MSF teams, which represented 52% of the total deaths recorded in the eight health areas supported by the organisation. After analysis, most of these deaths could have been avoided with more rapid treatment. MSF's support to health centres and the general referral hospital in Salamabila was not enough sufficient for reaching the remote communities. Some people living in villages were left to fend for themselves and were receiving care late, leading to complications and even death.

MSF therefore decided to bring health care closer to the communities. Depending on the number of deaths reported in the villages and the distance from the health structures, MSF set up community care sites run by community health workers. These are people chosen by the community who are then trained by MSF. Pregnant or breastfeeding women up to six months old and children under five years old, who are considered the most vulnerable in the community, are the target. Diarrhoea and malaria in their simple forms are the pathologies treated by the community health relays. They can also provide first aid for victims of sexual violence and screen cases of malnutrition.