United Nations, Oct 21 : Eighty-five per cent of health facilities in North Kivu and South Kivu provinces in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are affected by shortages in medicine, while nearly 40 per cent have seen an exodus of health staff, a UN spokesperson said.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is "sounding the alarm over the collapse of the health system in North and South Kivu, where hostilities continue to impact civilians and devastate critical civilian infrastructure," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, at a daily briefing on Monday.

In North Kivu alone, UN partners working in health reported that about a third of all health facilities in the province's conflict zones have been destroyed, looted or abandoned, leaving millions of people with extremely limited access to healthcare, while the remaining facilities are overwhelmed and face critical shortages of essential supplies, including kits for survivors of sexual violence, cholera treatments and just basic routine vaccines, he said.

"This is happening as the province battles deadly epidemics," said the spokesperson.

Since the beginning of the year, health partners have recorded over 8,600 cases of cholera, 8,000 cases of mpox, and more than 10,500 cases of measles, which have already claimed dozens of lives, Xinhua news agency reported.

UN partners on the ground estimated that without urgent action, more than 6,000 preventable deaths could occur between now and the end of the year, and projected a potential 40 per cent increase in maternal mortality in the hardest-hit areas, according to Dujarric.

Noting that the $2.5 billion Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for the DRC is currently just 16 per cent funded, he said UN health partners urgently need $6 million to procure essential supplies and maintain these life-saving services.

"Urgent measures are needed to ensure the continued functioning of healthcare facilities in all areas affected by the crisis in the eastern part of the DRC. Additional funding is required to prevent a greater tragedy," said the spokesperson.

/IANS