News About Congo

1.2 Million Vaccination Syringes Donated to Congo

The Bulape Health Zone and almost 60 other health zones in Congo will received 1.2 million syringes.  The syringes were donated IMA World Health and its Project AXxes.  The syringes are used to vaccines such as measles and DPT.

Vaccines against measles and DPT will help reduce the high child mortality in Congo where one out of five children do not reach their fifth birthday.

IMA World Health Receives BD Donation of 1.2 Million Syringes for Democratic Republic of Congo.

IMA World Health (IMA) today announced that BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) (NYSE: BDX), a global medical technology company, has donated and shipped 1.2 million vaccination syringes to IMA's comprehensive health projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo. BD also donated and shipped 1.7 million vaccination syringes in 2008.

The 1.2 million disposable, one-use syringes shipped from BD's European facilities to the Democratic Republic of Congo primarily are used for measles and DPT vaccines. DPT is a combination vaccine against three infectious diseases: diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough) and tetanus. The vaccines are prioritized for infants under age five months.

The syringes are being distributed through the AXXES project, an IMA-led consortium of faith-based partners providing maternal and child health to a population of 8.2 million. AXXES is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

"IMA is serving the critical need of the DRC by increasing vaccination rates in children under five for diseases including tetanus and measles. By delivering these vaccines, IMA's work is a tremendous contributor to protecting the health of these children," said William Kozy, BD Executive Vice President. 

You Need to Read about Lisa and Generose

Just imagine a Run for Congo Women being held in Eastern Congo!  That's great.

Op-Ed Columnist - From ‘Oprah’ to Building a Sisterhood in Congo - NYTimes.com.

Five years ago, Lisa Shannon watched “Oprah” and learned about the savage, forgotten war here in eastern Congo, played out in massacres and mass rape. That show transformed Lisa’s life, costing her a good business, a beloved fiancé, and a comfortable home in Portland, Ore. — but giving her a chance to save lives in Congo.

“Technically, I had a good life before, but I wasn’t very happy,” she mused. “Now I feel I have much more of a sense of meaning.”

Maybe that’s why I gravitate toward Lisa’s story. In a land where so many “responsible” leaders eschew responsibility, Lisa has gone out of her way to assume responsibility and try to make a difference. Along with an unbelievable cast of plucky Congolese survivors such as Generose, she evokes hope.

On this visit to Congo, Lisa is organizing a Run for Congo Women right here in Bukavu, for Feb. 28, with Congolese rape survivors participating. You can sponsor them at www.runforCongowomen.org. And one of those participating in the run, hobbling along on crutches and her one leg, will be Generose.