Intergrated Health Programming in Sankuru
The dioceses of Kole and Tshumbe in the Sankuru district, which is located in the very center of the Democratic Republic of Congo, are among the most isolated dioceses in the country. They were further isolated when the war cut them off from their traditional supply lines and trade outlets in Kinshasa.
One project in Sankuru sells bicycles on credit so that produce can be transported between villages and markets.
Catholic Relief Services and the Diocesan Medical Offices of Tshumbe and Kole dioceses first responded to the emergency by helping restock health centers and hospitals with essential medicines. In early 2001, CRS and its partners complemented this initial intervention by developing a primary health care program to improve the health status of pregnant and lactating women and young children.
How Do We Do This Project and What Are Our Accomplishments To Date?
The Integrated Health program, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) and supported by UNICEF, has several aims:
- To resume routine vaccinations of children and pregnant women against common diseases such as measles, whopping cough or tetanus;
- To provide integrated quality care at pre-natal and post-natal clinics; and
- To improve access to quality health care by training staff, subsidizing essential medicines, and reequipping medical facilities.
Helping Sankuru
One factor limiting access to health care remains the lack of purchasing power of a population that has been cut off from its traditional trade outlet. There are virtually no markets and little paper money in circulation in the district.
To respond to this problem, CRS and its diocesan partners have initiated complementary interventions aimed at improving the food security of the population. For example, one project sells bicycles on credit so that produce can be transported between villages and markets.
Another CRS project designed to help this isolated region was the Owoto humanitarian river convoy, which traveled from Kinshasa to Sankuru in February 2002 with 760 tons of humanitarian aid, and returned to Kinshasa in March 2002 with agricultural products destined for relief programs. Owoto is the first convoy to travel between Kinshasa and the rebel-held dioceses of Tshumbe and Kole since the outbreak of war. It is a powerful symbol of hope, peace, and national reunification.
