Healthcare

UREC believes the quality of healthcare is the barometer of the health of a nation, and access to healthcare is a birth right of all Congolese. Furthermore, UREC has transcended the traditional view of public health, and replaced it with that of global health given that factors that pose threats to public health are complex and intertwined.  The healthcare indicators for DRC are very poor and worsening.  DRC has one of the highest infant and maternal mortalities in the world.  The number of children who succumb before their fifth birthday is stunning.  Access to quality care is limited to a few.  Major national public health policies are lacking (cancer prevention, detection and treatment, regulations on good manufacturing practices and safety of pharmaceutical drugs, cosmetics and food, emerging infections, bioterrorism, traditional medicine practice and safety of traditional medicines, crimes and violence, etc.).  Life expectancy is remarkably short.  The death toll resulting from violence and its consequences (5.4 million deaths in eight years) is the highest ever recorded in any country, and is only second to fatalities associated with World War II.  Malaria, infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), tuberculosis and cancer are taking a huge toll on the country on a daily basis.
It is imperative that national frameworks that integrate the fight against major diseases into sound policies be established and enforced to ensure the loss of human capital is prevented.  This requires a deep understanding of the development barriers, the ability to plan and execute, and finally, the ability to establish outcome measures.   Nowadays, such core competency in governance and related skills are rarely available among the top leaders, and people are often left to fend for themselves in DRC, a failed state.

We will work with health care providers, the pharmaceutical industry, non-government organizations, and the civil society to promote the drafting of healthcare legislation that mandates provision of affordable and effective healthcare to all citizens of DRC, irrespective of their gender, race, ethnic background, religion, political affiliation or social status.

We will build a universal healthcare system that will focus on reducing the excess mortality, and we will proceed step-by-step with a global healthcare plan (GHP) that is based on<

• Infrastructure building, including emergency services, intensive care and dialysis centers
  
  
• Comprehensive cancer centers for cancer prevention, detection and management with all supportive services, including telemedicine.
  
  
• State-of-the-art mother-child clinics in major cities with satellite centers in villages (use of telemedicine for remote monitoring).
  
  
• Modern medical centers dedicated to management of major infectious diseases.

We will enact legislation on the safety of pharmaceutical products, and will create a regulatory agency to monitor public safety related to use of drugs, biologics, cosmetics, food and other medicinal products.

We will work with the pharmaceutical industry to create manufacturing facilities for drugs, biologics and other medicinal products.

We will heavily invest in pharmaceutical R&D in order to create a national intellectual property, and boost drug development locally.

Water sanitation and waste management policies will be developed and implemented at the national level.  DRC has the second most powerful rivers in the world. We will harness the power of water to bring electricity to every village in the country.

It is our belief that the time has come to train the next generation of DRC healthcare workers.  We will spend substantial financial resources and great efforts to upgrade the medical school system by providing teachers and students with modern didactic tools, and will improve the social conditions of all people involved in the training of future nurses and doctors.

back to Agenda