Health program: towards person-centered care in the DRC

Context

In the DRC, the healthcare system is fragmented, particularly in urban areas where private, for-profit players proliferate, and not easily accessible to disadvantaged social groups. The healthcare system focuses on infectious diseases to the detriment of non-communicable diseases. What’s more, it does not meet the criteria required to set up a genuine universal health coverage system.

Given this situation, initiatives to strengthen the healthcare system are multiplying, but all too often they lack coordination between the different categories of players, which limits their impact.

Location

The projects are located in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in the provincial city of Kinshasa and in the province of North Kivu.

Expected results

1. Health authoritiesadapt their approaches and tools to the contexts in which they operate, aiming to improve the quality of care and make it person-centred.
2. Medico-psycho-social teamshave acquired skills, strengthened their motivation and improved their working environment to offer essential, quality, person-centered health services.
3. The communityis structured, strengthened and aware of its rights to health. They are active players in their own health, and are involved, to varying degrees, in defining and implementing local healthcare provision.
4. Concertation frameworksenable collaboration and exchange around the production of new knowledge, notably through research (-action) processes, and its dissemination to the various players.

Operational partners

Étoile du Sud (EDS asbl)

Université libre des Pays des Grands Lacs (ULPGL)

Bureau Central de la zone de santé de Kitambo (BCZ Kitambo)

Division Provinciale de la santé au Nord-Kivu (DPS NK)

Hôpital Provincial du Nord-Kivu (HPNK)

Centre de Formation Continue du Nord-Kivu (CFNK)

Unité chirurgicale de Beni-UNICHIR (UniChir)

Beni Surgery (BENISUR)

Division Provinciale de la santé à Kinshasa (DPS Kin)

Actors in the Goma and Karismbi health zones: Goma health zone central office (BCZ-Goma); Karisimbi health zone central office (BCZ-Karisimbi); Kyeshero urban medicalized health center (CSMU-Kyeshero); Rapha-Karisimbi urban medicalized health center (CSMU-Rapha).