Kinshasa, February 6th, 2023 (CPA)- Zero deaths, 672 people notified to health posts, 1 hospitalised by trauma, this is the health assessment presented to the CPA on Friday by the Minister of Public Health, Dr. Jean-Jacques Mbungani, at the end of the apostolic visit of Pope Francis in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
« You have seen that the balance sheet so far is reassuring and I said it even in the Council of Ministers: zero deaths compared to what happened in 1985, when we recorded losses of human life, » said Jean-Jacques Mbungani.
« 672 people were consulted at the health posts located on the different sites, 2 cases of dislocation, a few mild cases of hypoglycaemia, gastritis and 1 case of trauma of a 13 year old girl who received a shock following a jostle. She was hospitalised in Mama Yemo and, to date, her life is preserved, » said Dr Mbungani.
Minister Mbungani said that « all arrangements have been made for health care », noting at the same time that a medical plane was available throughout the papal stay.
At N’djili airport, some twenty mobile clinics were deployed to take care of patients, and even to intervene in case of trauma. Each health post, the minister noted, had a doctor, two nurses, a stretcher bearer and security personnel.
At the Ndolo mass, he said, « we benefited from the support of the medical unit of the Ministry of Public Health and the army’s medical intervention unit. On the ground, we have deployed 2,500 doctors and medical staff, 22 mobile clinics, 1,100 Red Cross first aiders and 9,000 volunteers.
Jean-Jacques Mbungani thanked all those involved, particularly the medical corps, before emphasising that for him, the Democratic Republic of Congo has grown with the reception of the Holy Father, expressing the hope that the organisation of other future events, such as the Games of La Francophonie, will also be a success.
