The remote artisanal mining communities where GSIF works in Kolwezi, DR Congo, are often very isolated. For most families, accessing basic healthcare services is a challenge due to the distance required to travel to the few existing healthcare facilities in the area – which, in any case, offer poor quality medical care at costs that are unsustainable for most.
To ensure that every family in these communities has access to essential healthcare, GSIF supported Bon Pasteur Kolwezi to establish a mobile clinic to provide free and accessible on-site primary healthcare facilities and socio-medical counseling. The services provided include pediatric, obstetrics and gynecology health services aimed at the most vulnerable women and children living in the four communities of Kanina, Kisote, Mukoma and Tshala.
On the road since March 2022, the ‘Clinique de Santè‘ provides services from a 4×4 truck that is able to reach these remote towns and villages, even when the roads are difficult to navigate during the country’s rainy seasons. The clinic employs two doctors, two nurses and a healthcare assistant locally. This team receives additional advice and support from international healthcare experts who carry out on-site training and share best practices to improve the team’s primary healthcare capacities.
The mobile clinic will move into high gear over the coming months as it extends its services to monitor the health of hundreds of women, children and newborn babies with follow-up care and specialist visits. The most serious and complicated cases will be referred to the main hospital or other health facilities in the Kolwezi area. The mobile clinic will also support childhood vaccination campaigns and continue to share good practices concerning health, hygiene and Covid-19 prevention in the various communities.
