The Deadliest Crisis

ore attention is paid to those who die violently than to those who die of disease. In our most recent Congo survey, only 2 percent of the deaths were attributed to the simmering conflict there. The rest resulted from easily preventable and treatable diseases that are the indirect — but no less devastating — result of the strife. Our teams were told that the “excess” Congolese deaths were mainly the result of fever (mostly caused by malaria), diarrhea, malnutrition or respiratory problems. Nearly half of the victims were younger than 5, but they still received almost no attention. The disappearance of 4 million Congolese was well-documented (our study was published in the British medical journal the Lancet), but it was viewed as unheroic, seemingly apolitical and therefore untelevisable.