Written question asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Baroness Amos (Labour) on Tuesday, 14 March 2006.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Question: What information they have received on the estimated daily mortality rate in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Answer: The International Rescue Committee’s (IRC) most recent mortality survey (2004) gives a crude death rate of 2.1 deaths per 1,000, per month in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). (This figure is more than 40 per cent. higher than the sub-Saharan Africa rate of 1.5 deaths per 1,000 per month.)We are unable to provide an accurate daily mortality figure for the DRC as there is no reliable estimate for the population. However, a rough calculation would suggest between 3,000 and 4,000 people die each day in the DRC.The IRC has estimated that this represents at least 1,200 deaths per day in DRC in excess of the sub-Saharan average.

Secondary information