On September 5, Head of State Félix Tshisekedi announced the launch of a free maternity and newborn care program in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This initiative aims to provide free, quality healthcare to all pregnant women as well as newborns during their first month of life.
As part of this program, prenatal consultations, ultrasounds, simple and complicated deliveries (by cesarean section), newborn care, vaccination, postnatal consultations, family planning and access to medicines will be fully supported.
This announcement sparked mixed reactions among the population. Some beneficiaries of free childbirth have expressed their views on this measure. A patient, preferring to remain anonymous, said she was delighted with this initiative and expressed her gratitude to President Tshisekedi. However, others, such as Benedicte Mapamboli, have expressed doubts about the effectiveness of this project. She fears in particular possible negligence on the part of medical staff due to the lack of remuneration.
Naomi Dembo, for her part, does not feel concerned by this free treatment and prefers to continue paying for her medical care in order to avoid any form of negligence. She also expresses concerns about the sustainability of this program, wondering if the authorities will be able to maintain it in the long term.
In an interview, the doctor director of one of the hospital centers involved in this project assures that patients will be taken care of optimally, whatever their case. However, it also raises concerns about salary arrears for medical staff, which are straining the hospital’s new units.
Despite these questions, the government claims to have allocated 42 million dollars for the establishment of free maternity in Kinshasa, and also plans to extend this project to the 25 provinces of the country by 2024, with a budget of 200 million dollars.
It is still too early to judge the effectiveness and sustainability of this program, but it is intended to be a major step forward in improving access to health care for pregnant women and newborns in the Republic. Democratic Republic of Congo.
Sources:
– News.cd
– Fatshimetrie.org
– Fatshimetrie.org
– Fatshimetrie.org