Butembo is a city in

North Kivu North Kivu (french: link=no, Nord-Kivu) is a province bordering Lake Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its capital is Goma. North Kivu borders the provinces of Ituri to the north, Tshopo to the northwest, Maniema to the so ...

, in the north eastern

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

, lying west of the

Virunga National Park , iucn_category = II , iucn_ref = , location = Democratic Republic of the Congo , map = Democratic Republic of the Congo , relief = 1 , coordinates = , area = , established = , nearest_city = Goma , photo =Virunga National Park-107997 ...

. The city is an important commercial centre with large

markets Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: * Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand * Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market Geography *Märket, a ...

, a

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

, multiple large

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

s, and an

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

. The city is located in a region known for

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of ''Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and north ...

and

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. S ...

growing. As of 2013 it had an estimated population of 670,285, making it the second largest city in North Kivu.

Overview

Butembo is 90% populated by the Nande tribe, a community distinguished by ethnic solidarity, conservative moral standards and influential leaders. The city is home to the 2nd Integrated Brigade of the

Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo The Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: Forces armées de la république démocratique du Congo ARDC is the state organisation responsible for defending the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The FARDC was rebuilt pat ...

, the Institut Kambali, founded in 1959, the (UCG), founded in 1989, and the

Adventist University of Lukanga The Adventist University of Lukanga is known officially in French as L'Université Adventiste de Lukanga and abbreviated as UNILUK is an institution of higher education in Butembo, Nord Kivu, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. UNILUK has appr ...

(UNILUK), founded in 1979.

Ebola

Ebola broke out in August 2018 in North Kivu province. A series of attacks on Ebola treatment centers in Butembo led up to the death of a policeman in March 2019 and of a doctor in April 2019. Locals mistakenly believe aid workers brought the virus to the area. More than 102,000 people received an experimental vaccine in this period, but 843 of 1300 confirmed and probable Ebola patients died. Treatment centers were earlier torched in Butembo and Katwa, and medical professionals threatened to strike.

References

External links

Butembo in Google Maps

YouTube Video of Nella Star
(2007) Video by Godfried van Loo following Dutch sociologist/anthropologist Nella Star when going back to Butembo after over 30 years. With a lot of footage from the city Butembo and surroundings. Dutch/French spoken and subtitled. Populated places in North Kivu {{DRCongo-geo-stub