Human health and vulnerability in the Nyiragongo volcano crisis, Democratic Republic of Congo, 2002: final report to the World Health Organisation

This document reports a vulnerability assessment of the Nyiragongo volcano crisis at Goma undertaken for the World Health Organisation (WHO), based on an analysis of the impact of the eruption on January 17/18, 2002. The relatively small loss of life in the January 2002 eruption (less than 100 deaths in a population of 500,000) was remarkable, and psychological stress was reportedly the main health consequence in the aftermath of the eruption. A cholera outbreak was prevented by the rapid intervention of NGO’s and other agencies to provide chlorinated drinking water from Lake Kivu. This report is a contribution for health sector preparedness and the involvement of the health sector in the on-going risk management of this crisis. Some important findings on the vulnerability of the population have emerged which relate to the eruption occurring in a region already affected by a complex humanitarian emergency and these should be considered in emergency planning and preparedness.