Protecting Street Children

Location: Kinshasa

Situation:

The war in DRC is one of the bloodiest the world has seen since the end of the Second World War. In less than five years, 4 million people will have died. In May 2003, fighting in Ituri province quickly spread to Bunia forcing women and children to flee. After three years of transition and an exceptional mobilisation by the international community, J. Kabila was re-elected on 29 October 2006.Today, the government is involved in managing the post-conflict reconstruction and the importance of civil society has been confirmed.

Activities:

Our programme, aimed at an integrated response to the AIDS epidemic, consists of:
The objectives of the project are to reintegrate and resocialise street children by:
• Distributing condoms at the sexual health centre and during IEC sessions;
• Maintaining a consultation and referral service for STIDs and information and counselling service in the PEKABO centre;
• Facilitating access to primary healthcare for street children supported by 45 NGOs.

Outlook:

Reinforcing current activities by supporting two day centres for girls living on the streets and expanding the care network by supporting seven health facilities.

Project start date: January 1999     

End date: December 2008