45,000 Congolese dying a month - study

War, disease and malnutrition are killing 45,000 Congolese every month in a humanitarian crisis that has killed 5

War, disease and malnutrition are killing 45,000 Congolese every month in a humanitarian crisis that has killed 5.4 million in nearly a decade, a survey released today said.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) said Democratic Republic of Congo's 1998-2003 war and its aftermath had caused more deaths than any other conflict since World War II.

"Congo's loss is equivalent to the entire population of Denmark or the state of Colorado perishing within a decade," IRC president George Rupp said.

The findings were published on the day Congo's government and warring eastern rebel and militia factions were due to sign a ceasefire in the hope of halting fighting in the east which has raged on since the nominal end of the 1998-2003 war.

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Mr Rupp said that although Congo's war formally ended five years ago, ongoing strife and poverty continue to take a "staggering" toll.

Malaria, diarrhoea, pneumonia and malnutrition, aggravated by conflict, were the top killers in Congo, the survey, conducted between January 2006 and April 2007, said.

"Most of the deaths are due to easily treatable and preventable diseases through the collapse of health systems and the disruption of livelihoods," said IRC director of global health programmes Richard Brennan, one of the survey's authors.

Congo has the lowest spending on health care of any country in the world at an average of just $15 per person per year.