Our project
Otema Hospital is the ambitious project of a Congolese doctor, Dr Tony Elonge. In the local language (Otetela), “Otema” means “the heart” but also “the breast”, “the womb” of the woman.
The hospital
“The Congo will not be built by people who come from outside; it will be built by Congolese people, and they must be given their chance.”
Dr. Mukwege
Three times nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, Panzi Hospital, DRC
In a country where both the birth rate and infant and maternal mortality are among the highest in the world, in a country where rape is a weapon of war, Otema Hospital has the vision of giving back to women and children their essential place in the social fabric.
The hospital currently includes an inpatient service, an operating theatre, an emergency service, a consultation service with imaging (ultrasound and endoscope), a laboratory and a pharmacy.
Location
The hospital is located in the city of Lodja, in the Sankuru region, in the centre of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Lodja is a city of approximately 300,000 inhabitants serving a population base of approximately 1,500,000. It is developing very quickly without the infrastructure being able to keep up. This project has already received the support of several government authorities in Kinshasa and Lodja. The local authorities have made available 11 hectares of land near the city centre. This large space will make it possible to combine medical care with psychological and social support.
The project thus includes workshops, gardening and meeting spaces.
Changing health conditions, offering the population of Sankuru real access to care, this is the bet that Doctor Tony is launching today!
In order to provide access to healthcare for all, including people lacking resources, the Otema Hospital offers sponsorship for fistula operations. And to improve the quality of care, improvements are planned for the hospital site (covered walkways, biomedical waste incinerator, sheltered place where families can cook for patients, etc.).
Sankuru Higher Technical Institute (IstSAN)
To support the development of the Sankuru province, the association Cœur de compassion, which runs Otema Hospital on the ground, has restored buildings less than a kilometre from the health facility. Today these buildings house a vocational training institute: IstSAN, the Institut Supérieur Technique du Sankuru (Sankuru Higher Technical Institute).
Working with international partners and teachers, IstSAN offers training in nursing, computing, development and dressmaking. It has capacity for 150 students.
A quality local service with a strong international anchor
Otema Hospital is a Congolese healthcare institution, initiated by Congolese people for Congolese people. Its operating strategy nonetheless fully integrates collaboration with NGOs and international health professionals in order to strengthen its equipment and development. Otema therefore offers care that is unique in the region, thanks to its medical equipment (operating theatre, monitoring, delivery room, medical imaging) and to the service provided by the legal clinic. In addition, regular visits from international health practitioners energise the hospital’s practices and increase the care available to the population of Sankuru.
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