NEWS: Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (WHO Director-General)à visited the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to monitor and coordinate response operations as a complex Ebola outbreak intensifies

About

• The second-largest country on the African continent by land area, trailing only Algeria.
• A unitary multiparty republic rich in strategic natural resources, possessing massive global reserves of cobalt, industrial diamonds, copper, and primary rainforests.
• Situated squarely in Central Africa, astride the Equator.
• Its capital and administrative center is Kinshasa
• Shares its borders with nine neighboring statesà Central African Republic, South Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Angola (including the small Angolan coastal exclave of Cabinda), Republic of the Congo (Congo-Brazzaville).
• Active Ebola Outbreak Hotspotsà Ituri Province, Eastern Rift Insecurity Zones

Key Geological and Physical Features:

• Central Congo Basinà The DRC’s interior consists of a vast low-lying basin covered by dense equatorial rainforests, forming one of the world’s largest tropical forest ecosystems.
• Mitumba Mountainsà The Mitumba Mountains run along the eastern border= creating a rugged natural barrier and influencing local climate and river systems.
• Virunga Mountainsà Volcanic chain includes active volcanoes such as Mount Nyiragongo, making it one of Africa’s most geologically active regions.
• Great Lakes Networkà Rift lakes such as Albert, Edward, Kivu, and Tanganyika provide freshwater resources, fisheries, and important transport corridors.
• The Congo Riverà Drains a huge basin and follows a unique looping course, crossing the Equator twice before reaching the Atlantic Ocean.