Humanitarian Crisis and Health System Collapse in Goma (Democratic Republic of the Congo): Addressing the Complexity of Public Health Emergencies in Armed Conflict Settings
1
Community Health, Institut Supérieur des Techniques Médicales de Lubumbashi, Lubumbashi, Congo, Democratic Republic of the
2
Health Economics and HIV/AIDS Research Division (HEARD), University of Kwazulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
Popul. Med. 2026;8(Supplement Supplement 1):
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
The January 2025 takeover of Goma by armed groups triggered a multidimensional public health crisis. Understanding the interplay of social, political, environmental, and health determinants is crucial to framing effective humanitarian responses in conflict-affected urban contexts.
METHODS:
This is an analytical commentary based on secondary data from international humanitarian organizations, recent epidemiological reports, and field observations. Analysis employed the World Health Organization’s Health System Building Blocks framework, Sphere humanitarian standards, and a syndemic approach to examine interactions between armed conflict, forced displacement, systemic failures, and epidemic outbreaks. The perspective integrates the lived experiences of local populations and healthcare professionals.
RESULTS:
The conflict caused near-total collapse of Goma’s health system, including destruction of infrastructure, critical workforce shortages, disrupted supply chains, and severe barriers to healthcare access. Concurrently, there was a surge in preventable diseases (cholera, measles, mpox), extreme deterioration of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) conditions, and a massive mental health burden. Syndemic dynamics were evident: armed violence, poverty, displacement, institutional fragility, and environmental hazards reinforced one another, exacerbating health risks.
CONCLUSIONS:
The Goma crisis demonstrates that public health emergencies in conflict settings cannot be addressed through isolated sectoral responses. Complexity is a structuring reality that necessitates integrated, adaptive, and ethically grounded interventions combining scientific evidence, local knowledge, and humanitarian action. Effective responses should include secure humanitarian access, mobile health services, community-based surveillance, WASH interventions, and psychosocial support, aligned with the humanitarian–development–peace nexus. Policies sensitive to local context are essential to translate complexity into actionable strategies that uphold dignity and meet the population’s real needs.
The January 2025 takeover of Goma by armed groups triggered a multidimensional public health crisis. Understanding the interplay of social, political, environmental, and health determinants is crucial to framing effective humanitarian responses in conflict-affected urban contexts.
METHODS:
This is an analytical commentary based on secondary data from international humanitarian organizations, recent epidemiological reports, and field observations. Analysis employed the World Health Organization’s Health System Building Blocks framework, Sphere humanitarian standards, and a syndemic approach to examine interactions between armed conflict, forced displacement, systemic failures, and epidemic outbreaks. The perspective integrates the lived experiences of local populations and healthcare professionals.
RESULTS:
The conflict caused near-total collapse of Goma’s health system, including destruction of infrastructure, critical workforce shortages, disrupted supply chains, and severe barriers to healthcare access. Concurrently, there was a surge in preventable diseases (cholera, measles, mpox), extreme deterioration of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) conditions, and a massive mental health burden. Syndemic dynamics were evident: armed violence, poverty, displacement, institutional fragility, and environmental hazards reinforced one another, exacerbating health risks.
CONCLUSIONS:
The Goma crisis demonstrates that public health emergencies in conflict settings cannot be addressed through isolated sectoral responses. Complexity is a structuring reality that necessitates integrated, adaptive, and ethically grounded interventions combining scientific evidence, local knowledge, and humanitarian action. Effective responses should include secure humanitarian access, mobile health services, community-based surveillance, WASH interventions, and psychosocial support, aligned with the humanitarian–development–peace nexus. Policies sensitive to local context are essential to translate complexity into actionable strategies that uphold dignity and meet the population’s real needs.
| eISSN: | 2654-1459 |
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