War is breeding disease and death in North Kivu, the heartland of fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to flee as armed groups fight Government forces for control of territory and resources. Without shelter, food and clean water, families on the move become even more vulnerable to disease and basic infections.

Cholera is among the most deadly: it can kill within days and, if not isolated and treated correctly, spreads with devastating efficiency in cramped, make-shift conditions.

In Goma, Merlin has set up a cholera treatment centre to help cope with the influx of sick people fleeing into the town from neighbouring villages. We are also supporting cholera treatment and prevention in the conflict areas: our teams are delivering vital medical supplies, including Ringer's Lactate, to clinics which have been cut off from any humanitarian support for weeks.

Cholera is also affecting people in more isolated and remote areas such as Maniema Province, where Merlin supports health care for over a million people and where less than 1% of the population have access to clean drinking water.

This disease is far from new to DRC - cholera thrives on the kind of insecurity, displacement and lack of basic services which have come to define this country for the past decade. In 2007, our teams responded to 72 outbreaks. So far this year, 10,321 cases of cholera have been reported in North Kivu alone with 197 lives claimed by the disease. Merlin staff are saving lives on the ground right now. But with hundreds of people too scared to leave the bush to seek treatment, our teams in DRC believe far more people could be suffering - and dying - in silence.