Congo Refugees Crisis

DUBIE, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO - DECEMBER 7: Chris Lenzen, a medical doctor, comforts a baby as she waits with her mother to be vaccinated for measles in a makeshift camp on December 7, 2005 in Dubie, Katanga Province in Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Thousands of refugees have fled fighting between the Congolese army and Mai-Mai rebels in Eastern Congo. Chris works for Doctors Without Border (MSF), and they vaccinated thousands of refugees during two days. The refugees also received blankets, plastic sheeting, cooking utensils and a food ration from them. MSF is one of the few organizations that work in Katanga Province. These refugees are some of the victims of the civil war that started in 1996. Many people have moved from area to area the last years trying to find safety. About four million people have died in Congo since 1996, making it the deadliest humanitarian crisis in recent memory. Most of people have died of preventable diseases such as malaria, measles, diarrhea, respiratory infections and malnutrition. The health system has collapsed and very few people have access to healthcare. Congo is planning to hold general elections by June 2006, the first democratic elections in forty years. (Photo by Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images)