Nearly nine in ten medical facilities in conflict-torn eastern Congo have exhausted their medicine supplies following months of heavy fighting, looting, and disrupted deliveries, the International Committee of the Red Cross ( ICRC ) said on Wednesday.

The finding is part of a survey conducted last month of 240 health centres and clinics in North and South Kivu provinces. It is the largest such assessment the ICRC has carried out since a lightning advance by Rwanda-backed M23 rebels spurred fighting that has killed thousands.

Nearly nine out of 10 surveyed facilities were fully out of medicines.

Staff shortages affected 40% of facilities covered by the survey, 13% were completely nonfunctional and “many” reported consistent supply shortages going back to January, when M23 seized Goma

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