Faculties School of Business and Economics School of Medicine School of Law School of Theology

School of Medicine

Building a healthy Congo

Dr. Samuel Mampunza heads this new school, which was launched with a preparatory year in 2006 with 200 students. Year one involves intensive English, physics, chemistry, and biology. Students also begin their medical training.

For the 2009-10 Academic Year, we have 734 students - School of Medicine (306 male, 428 female).

DR Congo Health Statistics (source: Dikembe Mutombo Foundation, www.dmf.org)

• The average life expectancy is 42-47 years. In 2003, approximately 2.5% of the population was 65 years old or older.
• The infant mortality rate in the Congo is 9.6%. In the United States, the rate is significantly smaller (0.6%).
• Nearly 20% of newborn children die before their fifth birthday.
• Poverty is an overwhelming problem in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In 2002, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita was only $600. In contrast, the GDP per capita in the United States was $36,300.
• In 1995, the Congo had the biggest polio epidemic of the 20th Century.
• There are 150,000 new infections of tuberculosis each year.
• One out of every seven deaths is HIV/AIDS related.
• In 2001, there were eight times as many HIV/AIDS related deaths in the Congo (120,000) than in the United States (15,000), despite the fact that the population in the Congo is 1/5th the size of the U.S.
• Malaria is one of the leading causes of death. More than four million new cases were reported in 2003.
• According to health ministry statistics, five percent of the 4.5 million people infected by malaria last year died of the disease.

The launch of this vitally needed Medical School could not have come too soon.

The long term intent of the Medical School is:

• All medical students will undergo their internships and residencies at hospitals in Congo's Rural Health Zones.
• Scholarship-supported students will sign contracts further obligating them to work at least two years in a rural hospital or clinic upon graduation.
• Degrees will not be conferred until the obligation has been met.
• English classes. French is the language of instruction, but a strong English program increases the breadth of study. The library contains a significant percentage of books in that language.
• Both the English and computer programs are receiving increased emphasis in order to support instruction at the new School of Medicine.

These photographs show the equipment arriving and our first class of Medical students using the new lab equipment.