The ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been the deadliest since the Second World War. More than 5 million people have died – mainly of starvation and disease – and marauding militia groups have raped and abused hundreds of thousands of women and children.

Deep in the east of the country, where the war began in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide, one surgeon in a small and underfunded hospital is giving women and children a reason for hope.