The IRC carried out the report with Australia’s Burnet Institute. 45,000 lives are claimed every month according to the survey. This conflict has had the most deaths ever since World War II. The loss of lives is attributed by war, disease, and malnutrition.
Both groups say that the war and it’s aftermath has caused more deaths than any other conflict since World War II.
“Congo’s loss is equivalent to the entire population of Denmark of the state of Colorado perishing within a decade,” according to George Rupp, president of the International Rescue Committee.
Their findings were published on the day Congo’s government and warring eastern rebel and militia factions were due to sign a cease-fire agreement in hopes of halting the fighting in the east which has continued and raged on since the nominal end of the conflict.
“The conflict and its aftermath, in terms of fatalities, surpass any other since World War II,” Rupp added.
The survey explains that the top killers in Congo were malaria, diarrhea, pneumonia, and malnutrition which were aggravated by the conflict.
“Most of the deaths are due to easily treatable and preventable diseases through the collapse of health systems and the disruption of livelihoods,” according to Richard Brennan, who is the director of global health programs of the IRC. He was one of the people that authored the survey.
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