KWILU NGONGO HEALTH CENTRE - DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
​
The town of Kwilu Ngongo has a population of 42,000 people with no adequate health care facilities. Life expectancy in DR Congo is only 62 years, and many people there suffer from malnutrition and preventable diseases with little access to sanitation or clean water.
Susila Dharma Britain are contributing towards this three-year, $675,000 project which provides a community health centre, mother and baby care beds and two new classrooms.
​
This project is a partnership between the town of Kwilu Ngongo, Local Health Authority, Susila Dharma (DRC), the German Aid agency BMZ, The Buchan Trust, and Susila Dharma Britain, all coordinated internationally by Susila Dharma International.
​
In 2022, Susila Dharma Britain contributed towards a desperately needed new mother and baby Centre. Previously at the Health Centre, only emergency cases (e.g caesarean sections, ectopic pregnancies, hernias, cysts) were possible, and carried out by a surgical team without specialised surgical training in a small room that was not properly protected from ambient air and potential sources of infection.
SD Britain has committed funds towards the final phase of this project. Previous phases saw SD Congo, SD Germany, SD Canada SDIA and the Blond Trust working together with support from the Buchan International Fund to build a paediatric ward, a radiology unit with X-ray machine, a laboratory building, a refectory and a morgue. In addition, a roofing of the path to the radiology department was realized and the protective wall to the Sika River was built. A second-hand ambulance was procured and is in good use.
​
This final phase will see the building of a specialised surgery, increasing clean water supply through the drilling of a borehole and much needed equipment and staff training. This will bring the Health Centre up to the level of a Regional Hospital, and will ensure the infrastructure and capacity needed to meet the growing demand from patients in surrounding areas.