Bienvenu Kulungu during a recent visit to The White House.

The conflict in the Congo has led to an estimated 5 million orphans, and almost half of infants deaths in the DRC are linked to malnutrition.

The country has fewer hospitals with a population of 100 million people and most hospitals are poorly staffed and equipped.

Kulungu Corp. says new hospital will cost $80 million and satisfy the needs of an underserved region where most hospitals are poorly staffed and equipped

WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, October 4, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Kulungu Corporation has announced the construction of a major new hospital in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

The new hospital is estimated to cost $80 million (USD) upon completion, said Bienvenu Kulungu, the founder and CEO of the U.S.-based, 501(c)3 nonprofit organization Kulungu Corp., based in Columbia, Md.

The planned hospital will focus on cancer care, cardiothoracic surgery and other major medical specialties. A hearing institute will also be built.

"The DRC is in dire need of a new hospital to improve and promote the quality of healthcare and the lives of people in the DRC," Kulungu said. "With a population of 96 million, the DRC has fewer hospitals per capita of almost any country in the world, and most of our hospitals are poorly staffed and equipped. This new hospital will serve a lot of needs."

In the Congo, nearly two-thirds of the population lives on less than a dollar a day, and only 20 percent of them have access to appropriate medical care, Kulungu said. Less than a quarter of the DRC's citizens have proper sanitation facilities, and fewer than half have access to clean water.

Since the outbreak of conflict in 1996 in the Eastern region of the DRC, almost 10 million people have perished and there are now an estimated five million orphans in the war-torn, Central African nation.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), almost half of infants deaths in the DRC are linked to malnutrition. With such a lack of proper diet, almost two-thirds of children lack vitamins, the WHO said in a recent report. The greatest threat to health is malaria. According to UNICEF, there were 89 polio infections and 129,000 reported cases of measles, leading to over 1,500 deaths.

About 500,000 people are estimated to be infected with HIV/AIDS, according to the United Nations, and diseases like cholera, diarrhea and bilharzia are common because of lack of clean water. About 55 percent of the Congolese live below the poverty line, according to WHO.

"The World Health Organization and the NGOs on the ground are fighting hard to deal with a huge number of public health challenges," said Kulungu, a Congolese native who graduated from the University of Massachusetts-Boston. "With the construction of this new, much-needed hospital, my goal is to bring health and appropriate treatment to diseases in a nation where its mostly needed."

Visit www.kulungucorp.com for more information.

John H Arundel
Perdicus Communications
+1 703-963-4191
john@perdicuspr.com

Legal Disclaimer:

EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.