Dikembe Motumbo Foundation

The Dikembe Mutombo Foundation is dedicated to improving the health, education and quality of life for the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Foundation strives to accomplish this goal through an emphasis on primary health care and disease prevention, the promotion of health policy, health research ad increased access to health care education for the people of the Congo.

Working to Improve Health, Education, Quality of Life

Dikembe Mutombo says his aspirations have always been focused on improving the living conditions and well being of the Congolese population. On September 15, 2001, his dream became a reality as he witnessed the historic groundbreaking of the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital, a new 10-acre, 300 –bed facility dedicated to the memory of his beloved mother.

The Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital in Dikembe’s hometown of Kinshasa will provide special care to the nation’s poorest residents and train its health professionals with the latest innovations in health care. Dikembe has already contributed over $15 million toward the $29 million project. It will be the first new hospital built in the Congo in almost 40 years. Mutombo believes the addition of this new facility will be effective in diminishing some of the major health gaps within his country.

The General Hospital will include state-of-the-art facilities and equipment, with inpatient beds, an outpatient clinic, emergency services, and a pharmacy. Researchers and clinicians will have access to the hospital’s laboratories for biochemistry, hematology, bacterial, and parasitic sampling. Other specialized departments will offer services in surgery, obstetrical care, radiology, and nuclear medicine. The hospital’s clinics will treat all conditions, offering expertise in heart and lungs, urology, orthopedics, ophthalmology, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology. In addition, the General Hospital will also treat specific health conditions, offering tests in gastroenterology, respiratory, allergies, echo cardiology, electro cardiology, echo obstetrics, and dermatology.

The country is in dire need of new facilities and equipment. The World Health Organization (WHO) conducted an assessment of hospitals, health centers, laboratories, pharmacies, and medical schools in the Congo in 1997. They identified access to health care as a major problem, with families in most areas unable to afford available health centers. People who are sick are unable to seek medical treatment. Equipment and supplies are also a major problem. Currently, sterilization and refrigeration equipment is old, poorly maintained, and not standardized. Protective clothing and gloves, soap, lighting for night operations, operating instruments, suture materials, and vacuum extractors are routinely unavailable. Also, there are not enough doctors to accommodate the population. There are only about 2,000 doctors for the Congolese population of 58 million and only 900 in the city of Kinshasa. The addition of the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital will provide the necessary training to bring in more health professionals.

Construction on the new hospital in the capital city of Kinshasa began in 2001 and Phase 1 will be completed in 2007. When Dikembe signed agreements with the contractors (Be Six Corporation) at the Louis Bergre Group offices in Washington, , he stated, “The construction of this new hospital will benefit future generations by allowing them to lead healthy, productive lives.”

Mutombo began his foundation in 1997 with his main goal being to improve the health, education, and quality of life for the people of Africa. In 1998, at a fundraising event for the hospital sponsored by the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation, keynote speaker Melvin Foote, Executive Director of the Constituency for Africa, praised Dikembe’s efforts to improve health in the Congo. “Dikembe Mutombo symbolizes a bridge and a link between the United States and Africa,” said Foote. “As a son of Africa, he fully identifies with the plight and struggles of the people. At the same time, he is fully conversant in the culture of America and interacts and is respected by Americans on a variety of levels.”

The Dikembe Mutombo Foundation also cooperates with the health initiatives of other agencies such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The CDC has a program called the National Immunization Program that ran a worldwide race to eradicate polio globally. On his return to the Congo, Dikembe added his support by making public appearances and taping public service announcements to encourage cooperation of the CDC’s efforts. Mutombo has also spoken at the United Nations Poverty Day in New York on the effects of poverty on the health of a country.

Dikembe’s homeland, the Democratic Republic of Congo, is the largest country in Central Africa. It is known most for its culture, music and traditions. However, the effects of poverty and the presence of fatal diseases have taken an enormous toll on the people of Congo and the country’s health infrastructure. The DRC is most affected by tuberculosis and malaria. The country suffers from approximately 150,000 new tuberculosis infections each year, and malaria is the most common cause of death for children.

Mutombo has given more than $15 million of his own money and is an integral part of the fundraising efforts to cover the remainder of the construction costs. Dikembe shared his personal hopes for the Foundation and the hospital: “In Central Africa there is an old proverb: ‘When you take the elevator up to reach the top, please don’t forget to send the elevator back down, so that someone else can take it to the top.’ This is my way of sending the elevator down.