Rubaya returnees face new barrier: healthcare access in Masisi

In Rubaya, a mining town in Masisi territory (North Kivu), families who recently returned after conflict-driven displacement say they are struggling to access basic healthcare largely because they cannot afford consultations and medicines. Some residents report staying home while sick or turning to self-medication, a trend local health workers describe as increasingly risky actualite reports.

Cost is keeping patients away from the clinic

Returnees interviewed in Rubaya describe a daily reality shaped by economic insecurity: choosing between food and medical care. Several said they avoid health facilities altogether because they expect they will not be able to pay after a consultation especially if treatment requires multiple prescriptions.

At the Rubaya Reference Health Center, staff say they are seeing fewer patients than expected despite persistent needs. Gabriel Kundabose, a community liaison and deputy secretary of the local Health Committee (COSA), links the drop in attendance to out-of-pocket costs. He says “community participation” in paying for care has fallen sharply, and that many patients delay treatment until conditions worsen.

Health workers in Rubaya warn that when people avoid clinics, illnesses often go undiagnosed and untreated. Returnees interviewed in the report described relying on home treatment and traditional healers without prior testing or medical guidance an approach clinicians say can delay proper care, complicate infections, and increase preventable deaths.

This pattern is not unique to Rubaya. Across parts of North and South Kivu, humanitarian reporting has repeatedly flagged how non-functional facilities, looting, supply gaps, and limited electricity constrain service delivery especially in areas where families are trying to return and rebuild. For example, OCHA has documented that in several return areas of Masisi, health facilities have remained damaged or under-equipped, with shortages of supplies and basic infrastructure.

The “return phase” is exposing a new frontline

For many communities, returning home is often treated as a sign that the crisis is easing. But Rubaya illustrates a harsher truth: return does not automatically mean recovery.