Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karman are awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2011 for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work.
Panzi Hospital congratulates the winners and their important work. They are great role models and champions of the Security Council Resolution 1325 showing the importance of women’s participation for sustainable peace and democratic development.
More than thirty people have now been trained in Panzi Hospital in the management of information on gender based violence. Among them are doctors, nurses and psychosocial assistants. According to project coordinator for SSV project at Panzi Hospital, Johanna Pearson, South Kivu province is lacking a standardized system for collecting, analysis and dissemination of data concerning survivors of sexual violence, among the various intervening organizations. This training will improve information management within Panzi Hospital. It will also help to ensure proper care of patients and improve the general analysis of gender based violence.
This new system of management of information on gender based violence is secure and the patients can be sure of confidentiality. The training highlights the importance of patient consent in the sharing and processing of any individual information.The system is being tested for a period of one month, after which an evaluation will identify the strengths and weaknesses in the particular situation of the SSV project.
Dr. Denis Mukwege Mukengere is the founder and medical director of Panzi Hospital in the Democratic Republic of Congo. As a young child, Dr. Mukwege accompanied his father, a Pentecostal pastor, while visiting sick members of the community. This later inspired him to become a doctor. The Swedish Pentecostal mission helped support him in his medical studies. He decided to specialize in gynecology and obstetrics after observing that female patients at Lemera Hospital suffered from insufficient medical care, which caused complications during their deliveries. Amid the war in eastern DRC, in 1998, he initiated the construction of Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, which has become known worldwide for the treatment of survivors of sexual violence and women with severe gynecological problems. Dr. Denis Mukwege has been awarded the Olof Palme Prize, the UN Human Rights Prize, the King Baudouin International Development Prize, and has been named African of the Year.
The new building for the medical faculty at l’Université Evangélique en Afrique (UEA) is now inaugurated. It is situated just next to Panzi Hospital and has a capacity of over 300 students.
The Minister of Higher Education in DRC, Mashako Mamba, said this is the second medical university of this standard in the country, and that it shows the significance of Cepac’s (Communauté des Eglises de Petnecôte en Afrique Centrale) role as an actor in the society. He also highlighted that it is time for Panzi Hospital to become a university hospital.
“When a country has a lot of darkness it is important to think about the future of our youth, this is a good thing and an investment for the young people in Congo,” says Dr Denis Mukwege. “This fall we will start a research program at the medical faculty together with sister universities such as Sahlgrenska (Sweden), Michigan, Toulouse and Milan. With immediate access to the hospital I think our both institutions will gain from this close collaboration, says Gustave Mushagalusa Nachibera, principal of UEA.”
Representatives from Germany, who funded the building through EED, South Korea, USA and Sweden participated in the ceremony.