26 March 2024

King’s Global Health Partnerships (KGHP) has been working to improve surgical outcomes for communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Working with the government and hospitals, the team has collaborated to strengthen safe surgery in Kongo Central Province by increasing skills and equipment, and the use of surgical data.  

KGHP has released a short film that provides a snapshot of the project. ‘Developing Safe Surgery Practice in Kongo Central’ is a collaboration between KGHP in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Ministry of Health and the Division of Health in Kongo Central province.

The two-year initiative aimed to improve surgical outcomes for rural and urban communities in Kongo Central province by increasing the skills, confidence, and surgical equipment available to healthcare workers and strengthening the generation and use of surgical data. 

Worldwide, an estimated five billion people lack access to safe, timely, and affordable surgical and anaesthesia care. The barriers to accessing safe surgery include: the risk of financial catastrophe for patients, the lack of a trained healthcare workforce, poor infrastructure and equipment, and limited leadership to drive needed improvements.

Where KGHP works in Kongo Central province, most of the population of six million people lack access to safe, timely, and affordable surgery. For those patients who can access surgical, obstetric, trauma and anaesthesia care, peri-operative mortality and complications are high and outcomes are poor.

Over a two-year period, KGHP worked with ten district and tertiary healthcare facilities to train and mentor clinical staff in safe surgical practice, and support the purchase of surgical equipment. The team also worked alongside the Provincial Ministry of Health to support surgical data collection, management and use.

You can watch the film here.

If you are interested in volunteering with King’s Global Health Partnerships, please sign up to its volunteer platform here.