The health center of the Banande-Kainama group, located in the remote region of North Kivu, is facing serious difficulties which are seriously compromising its operations and endangering the lives of the patients who depend on it. According to the nurse in charge, Mumbere Tibasima, the critical situation is characterized by an alarming shortage of essential medicines, thus forcing almost all patients to be transferred to other care structures, notably in Boga, located around thirty kilometers away.
This dramatic observation is reinforced by the poignant story of two women who died tragically during their transfer to Boga to give birth by cesarean section. These avoidable deaths demonstrate the urgency of the situation and underline the urgent need for immediate action to compensate for these unbearable deficiencies.
The words of Mumbere Tibasima resonate like a desperate cry for help: “The difficulties we face are multiple and overwhelming. In addition to the cruel lack of medicines, we are faced with total isolation due to the lack of adequate means of transport. We are pleading for the acquisition of an ambulance that would allow patients requiring urgent care to be quickly evacuated. Pregnant women, already weakened, suffer inhumane conditions during their transfer to Boga, exposed to road jolts which often prove fatal.”
Faced with this dark picture, Mumbere Tibasima’s call for help resonates like a cry of distress addressed to the competent authorities and to the generosity of charitable souls. Since the looting of the health center by armed groups and the war ravaging the region, the situation has deteriorated considerably. The beds have disappeared, others lie empty, without mattresses and mosquito nets, making the reception of patients unbearable and unworthy of any health structure worthy of the name.
It is imperative that concrete and rapid measures be taken to save the Banande-Kainama health center from the agony that threatens it. The lives of thousands of patients depend on it, and each day of delay in treating these health emergencies is one day too many for these already vulnerable and neglected populations.
It is high time that sustainable solutions are implemented to guarantee access to primary health care for all, without discrimination or exclusion. The duty to protect the health and well-being of the population falls on each of us, and it is our collective responsibility to act with speed and determination to put an end to this intolerable situation.