Welcome to the United Nations

North Kivu: MONUSCO set to improve the quality of the health care provided by North-Kivu health centre to the PNC in Goma

MONUSCO's quick-impact project consists of the expansion of the existing delivery room and the construction of a neonatology room and an emergency unit within the PNC health centre in Goma. Photo MONUSCO / Ado Abdou

On July 29, 2020, Omar Aboud, chief of MONUSCO/Goma Petit Nord office, and General Aba Van Ang, the provincial commissioner of the Congolese national police in North-Kivu, jointly laid the foundation stone for the construction and rehabilitation of the police health centre in North-Kivu.

The project consists of expanding the existing delivery room and building a neonatal room as well as an emergency unit. These three units are intended not only for police officers’ families but also for the inmates in the neighbouring Munzenze prison as well as the population living in the surrounding neighbourhood. MONUSCO Police (UNPOL) has backed this quick impact project worth US $ 39,080.

“The support provided by the chief of MONUSCO Police is intended to help improve the quality of the health care delivered to the PNC personnel, their dependents as well as the population living in the surrounding area", specified Omar Aboud, calling on the UNPOL and the PNC officers to be vigilant in ensuring respect for quality, until the work is completed.

Colonel Moussa Sangaré, head of MONUSCO police component (UNPOL) declared: “With a keen desire to improve the health care conditions for the PNC personnel and their families, MONUSCO police has kindly brought its support to this project in order to resolve the multiple challenges faced in providing care to the PNC, often confronted with recurring health problems”.

For his part, General Aba Van Aang, PNC commissioner in North-Kivu, reiterated his gratitude to the head of the UN Mission’s office and applauded PNC-MONUSCO cooperation which “produced such visible results” for the six-month period he has served as the head of the police in the province.

"The numerous actions are sufficient proof of MONUSCO’s concern to ensure that the population in this DRC’s territory are better served by their police and in compliance with the human rights," he said.

The two rooms, with a capacity of five beds each, will be used one for emergency and the other for neonatology and will be equipped with all the necessary equipment, said the doctor in charge of this health centre, further indicating: "All this will help improve the quality of the health care provided by this public structure".

The non-profit organization "Un jour nouveau" is MONUSO’s partner in the implementation of this project. Its mission is to help the population of the eastern DRC to develop their potential and transform the culture of violence and dependence to the one of empowerment and social cohesion through reconciliation.

We, policewomen, are grateful to MONUSCO for the assistance intended for us.

For the vice-president of this local NGO, Esther Ntoto, “Rehabilitating and equipping the police health centre in Goma will undoubtedly contribute to improving the health of the police personnel as well as their families as a whole. It will also contribute to the reduction of infant and child mortality which is very high in this country, especially in the low-income households such as the ones of the police personnel”.

About ten policewomen attended the ceremony. “We look forward to opening the new units in a few weeks. We know they will help police families to significantly reduce the high death rate associated with lack of quality care,” said Marthe, one of the policewomen.

They further said in chorus: "We, policewomen, are grateful to MONUSCO for the assistance intended for us". Indeed, the PNC personnel and their families represent a little more than 100,000 people in the North-Kivu province.

During the month of October 2020, the new units of the PNC health centre in North-Kivu should be fully operational to better serve the future beneficiaries.