My Time in DR Congo and Other Random Observations March 8, 2012

In Portland on International Women’s Day and on the eve of an extended vacation, Mercy Corps’ Congo Country Director, Lorina McAdam, looks back on 13 years in international development, focusing on her most recent four in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. DR Congo is one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, riddled with a history of deadly civil war and corruption.

Relatively large—about the size of the United States east of the Mississippi—DRC has a population of 71,712,867, approximately 250 African ethnic groups and 242 languages. Infant mortality rate is 37.74/1000 live births (2011 estimate) and life expectancy is 51.3 years.

800,000 children are orphans due to AIDS and 20% of the children do not live past the age of five. Congo is ranked as fourth on the Failed States Index, and is currently rock bottom on the Human Development Index (187th out of 187), despite its abundant natural resources.

Native to Australia -- No. 2 country on the Human Development Index -- Lorina has also worked in South Sudan, Kenya, Honduras, and Laos. She’ll give us her personal and professional perspective of her experience, including an account of the role and fate of women in the Congo – considered the most dangerous country to be a woman.

Official Website: http://www.mercycorps.org/events/2012/01/18/26360