Overview

The Democratic Republic of the Congo, also often referred to as DRC, RDC, Congo-Kinshasa or Congo, and formerly as Zaire, is the third largest country by area on the African continent. Though it is located in the Central African UN sub-region, the nation is economically and regionally affiliated with Southern Africa as a member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). It borders the Central African Republic and Sudan on the north, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania on the east, Zambia and Angola on the south, and the Republic of the Congo on the west. The country enjoys access to the sea through a narrow forty kilometer stretch, following the Congo river into the Gulf of Guinea. The name "Congo" (meaning "hunter") is coined after the Bakongo ethnic group, living in the Congo river basin.

Sources:
The World Bank

Short History

The history of DR Congo has been one of civil war and corruption. After independence from Belgium in 1960, the country immediately faced an army mutiny and an attempt at secession by its mineral-rich province of Katanga. A year later, its prime minister, Patrice Lumumba, was seized and killed by troops loyal to army chief Joseph Mobutu.

In 1965 Mobutu seized power, later renaming the country Zaire and himself Mobutu Sese Seko. He turned Zaire into a springboard for operations against Soviet-backed Angola and thereby ensured US backing. But he also made Zaire synonymous with corruption. After the Cold War, Zaire ceased to be of interest to the US. Thus, when in 1997 neighboring Rwanda invaded it to flush out extremist Hutu militias, it gave a boost to the anti-Mobutu rebels, who quickly captured the capital, Kinshasa, installed Laurent Kabila as president and renamed the country DR Congo. Nonetheless, DR Congo's troubles continued. A rift between Mr Kabila and his former allies sparked a new rebellion, backed by Rwanda and Uganda. Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe took Kabila's side, turning the country into a vast battleground.

Despite coup attempts and sporadic violence a fragile peace has held since the formal end of the war. Moreover, the lot of DR Congo's citizens is little improved. The Crisis Group, a Brussels-based think-tank, said in 2005 that 1,000 people were dying every day from war-related causes, including disease, hunger and violence.

Sources:
Wikipedia
BBC News
The World Bank

Economy

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is home to a vast potential of natural resources and mineral wealth, yet the economy of the DRC has declined drastically since the mid-1980s. Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy, accounting for 57.9% of GDP in 1997. Main cash crops include coffee, palm oil, rubber, cotton, sugar, tea, and cocoa. Food crops include cassava, plantains, maize, groundnuts, and rice. In 1996, agriculture employed 66% of the work force.

Industry, especially mining, remains a great potential source of wealth for DRC. In 1997, industry accounted for 16.9% of GDP. The Congo was the world's fourth-largest producer of industrial diamonds during the 1980s, and diamonds continue to dominate exports. The Congo's main copper and cobalt interests are dominated by Gecamines, the state-owned mining giant. Gecamines production has faltered in recent years, due in part to a competitive world copper market.

Sources:
Wikipedia
The World Bank

Culture

The culture of the Democratic Republic of the Congo reflects the diversity of its hundreds of ethnic groups and their differing ways of life throughout the country — from the mouth of the River Congo on the coast, upriver through the rainforest and savanna in its centre, to the more densely populated mountains in the far east. Since the late 19th century, traditional ways of life have undergone changes brought about by colonialism, the struggle for independence, the stagnation of the Mobutu era, and most recently, the First and Second Congo Wars. Despite these pressures, the customs and cultures of the Congo have retained much of their individuality. The country's 60 million inhabitants are mainly rural. The 30 percent who live in urban areas have been the most open to Western influences.

Another notable feature in Congo culture is its sui generis music. The DRC has blended its ethnic musical sources with Cuban Rumba, and Meringue to give birth to Soukous. A true dynamic art form that makes all Africa dance, from Paris to Cape of Good Hope. The most influential figures of Soukous are the dapper Papa Wemba and the flamboyant Koffi Olomide.

Today 90% of Africa produces music genres which are direct derivatives of Congolese Soukous. Amazingly some of the African bands go up to sing in Lingala, the main language in the DRC. The same Congolese Soukous, under the guidance of "le sapeur" (dapper guy) Papa Wemba, has set up the tone for a generation of young guys always dressed up in expensive designer's clothes.

Sources:
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo

Tourism

Kinshasa & the West Kinshasa. The visitor interested in the past should not miss the prehistoric and ethnological museums at Kinshasa University. Nearby is a corner of the equatorial forest surrounding a beautiful lake called Ma Vallée with a tavern on its banks. Other attractions include the fishing port of Kinkole, and the Gardens of the Presidential Farm of Nsele made of pagodas. In both the markets and the suburbs of Kinshasa, there are craftspeople who produce wood and metal items. The National Museum includes some unique pieces of national art.

Southwest Congo & Bandundu. The Inkisi Falls (60m/197ft high) at Zongo and the caves in the region of Mbanza-Ngungu are pleasant resorts with a good climate. While in the Mbanza-Ngungu area the visitor should stop at Kisantu to visit the Frère Gillet Botanic Gardens with their world-famous rare orchids. Further west are the wild slopes and gorges of the River Kwilu, 120km (75 miles). The woods, caves and waterfalls of Boma and equatorial Mayumbe and the Tombs of Tshela can be visited on the way to the ocean beach of Moanda. Less easily accessible is the upper valley of the Kwango in the southwest. A long journey through a region of unspoiled natural beauty leads to the Tembo (formerly Guillaume) Falls.

Central & Eastern Congo Kasai & Shaba. In the south, the Upemba National Park straddles the River Lualaba, northeast of Bukama, and includes several lakes inhabited by hippos, crocodiles and numerous aquatic birds. Kananga and Mbuji-Mayi are typical tropical towns; Kalemie and the banks of Lake Tanganyika are reminiscent of the French Riviera. The whole of the south is dotted with freshwater lakes such as Munkamba, Fwa and Kasai; there are also numerous impressive waterfalls, such as Kiobo, on the River Lufira, and Lofol, 384m (1259ft) high, north of Lubumbashi.

Upper Congo & the Kivu. In the north is the Garamba National Park, covering 400,000 hectares and featuring lions, leopards, elephants, rhinos and giraffes. Lake Albert, which contains more fish than any other lake in Africa, lies at an altitude of over 618m (2027ft). Bunia is the point of departure for numerous excursions into the forests and mountains, native villages, the Caves of Mount Hoyo and the Escaliers de Venus Falls. Lake Edward is the home of birds of all sizes and colors. The Ruwenzori region is inhabited by gorillas and by the extremely rare okapi. The mountain scenery between Goma and Beni was regarded as some of the most spectacular in Africa, although the volcanic eruption of Nyiragongo, 3470m (11,385ft) in January 2002, damaged the surrounding area to some extent.

Virunga National Park. Covering an area of 12,000 sq km (4633 sq miles), this region comprises an immense plain bounded by two jagged mountain ranges that serve as a natural enclosure for the animals which roam at liberty in this huge natural reserve and include numerous lions, elephants, buffaloes, warthogs, antelopes, hippos and colorful aquatic birds.

http://www.iexplore.com/dmap/Congo,+Democratic+Republic+of+(Zaire)/Where+to+Go

HIV/AIDS

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) was one of the first African countries to recognize HIV, registering cases of HIV among hospital patients as early as 1983. At the end of 2001, the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) estimated that 1.3 million Congolese (adult and children) were living with HIV/AIDS, yielding an overall adult HIV prevalence of 4.9%. Beyond the 5% mark, the country's epidemic will be considered "high level:” or firmly established within the general population. By the end of 2003, UNAIDS estimated that 1.1 million people were living with HIV/AIDS, for an overall adult HIV prevalence of 4.2%. The main mode of HIV transmission occurs through heterosexual activity, which is linked to 87% of cases. The most affected age groups are women aged 20 to 29 and men aged 30 to 39. Life expectancy in the DR Congo dropped 9% in the 19905 as a result of HIVIAIDS.

According to UNAIDS, several factors fuel the spread of HIV in the DRC, including movement of large numbers of refugees and soldiers, scarcity and high cost of safe blood transfusions in rural areas, a lack of counseling, few HIV testing sites, high levels of untreated sexually transmitted infections among sex workers and their clients, and low availability of condoms outside Kinshasa and one or two provincial capitals. With the imminent end of hostilities and a government of transition, population movements associated with increased stability and economic revitalization will exacerbate the spread of HIV, which is now localized in areas most directly affected by the presence of troops and war-displaced populations. Consecutive wars have made it nearly impossible to conduct effective and sustainable HIV/AIDS prevention activities. In addition, the HIV-tuberculosis co-infection rate ranges from 30 to 50%.

The number of Congolese women living with HIV/AIDS is growing. UNAIDS estimates indicate that, at the end of 2001, more than 60% (670.000) of 1.1 million adults aged 15-49 currently living with HIV/AIDS were women. Infection rates among pregnant women tested in 1999 in major urban areas ranged from 2.7 to 5.4%. Outside the major urban areas, 8.5% of pregnant women tested in 1999 were HIV-positive. Between 1985 and 1997, infection rates among sex workers in Kinshasa ranged from 27 to 38%. More than one-half (58%) of the total population is under 15 years of age. The AIDS epidemic has had a disproportionate impact on children, causing high morbidity and mortality rates among infected children and orphaning many others. Approximately 30 to 40% of infants born to HIV-positive mothers will become infected with HIV. According to UNAIDS, by the end of 2001 an estimated 170,000 children under the age of 15 were living with HIV/AIDS, and 927,000 children had lost one or both parents to the disease.

In 2003 and 2004, a national HIV surveillance survey conducted jointly by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC and the National AIDS Control Program among pregnant women revealed an increase in HIV prevalence rates in rural and urban areas highly affected by consecutive wars, e.g., in Lodja (6.6%) and in Kisangani (6.6%).

The interim DRC government has shown growing interest in expanding HIV/AIDS services and improving the quality of services but lacks the necessary infrastructure and resources. Therefore, HIV/AIDS activities have recently resumed, but only to a limited extent. As per the national HIV/AIDS strategic framework (1999-2008), the DRC government favors prevention, care, and advocacy activities that highlight community participation, human rights and ethics, and the needs of persons living with HIV/AIDS.

To implement this strategy nationwide, the DRC government solicits participation from all development partners, including private sector, faith-based, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). The National AIDS Control Program, chaired by the Minister of Health, was established in the early 1990s. Recently, with considerable support from the World Bank, the DRC is establishing a multisectoral national control program called Programme National Multisectoriel de Lutte contre Ie SIDA. It is attached to the Office of the President and will act as the central unit for planning, coordination, and monitoring and evaluation of all HIV/AIDS/STI activities in the country.

Sources:
USAID Country Profile: http://www.synergyaids.com/Profiles_Web/Profiles_PDFs/DROCongoProfileFINAL2005.pdf
UNAIDS: http://www.unaids.org/en/Regions_Countries/Countries/congo.asp
HIV insite: http://hivinsite.ucsf.edu/global?page=cr09-cg-00
World Health Organization: http://www.who.int/hiv/HIVCP_COD.pdf