How women in the Congo bear the brunt of a ‘lethal combination’ – Ebola and coronavirus

Covid-19 is not the only consideration for a country battling multiple outbreaks. And who is left most vulnerable? Women and girls, as Lucy Anna Gray reports

An Ebola nurse treating a patient in October 2019 (REUTERS)

Baikoko Marguerite Munyatangoyi runs a small business in Kasika, a village in the Democratic Republic of Congo near the Rwandan border. For many it is most recognisable as the location of a 1998 massacre, where approximately 1,000 people were killed, and as one of the poorest places in the Goma region, having struggled with Ebola, measles and cholera outbreaks.

As Covid-19 leaves its mark around the world, communities like this too have had to adapt – but in wholly unique circumstances.

“The price of goods and food have increased shockingly,” the mother-of-seven says. Although she praises improved hygiene and awareness in her community, the government restrictions on movement mean far fewer resources are being transported to the village from Bukavu.