"More than 300,000 children die each year in Africa from fake medicines."Monsignor Masondole: "In Africa there is no shame in saying 'I am a Christian'."The event brought together important healthcare professionals, including Dr. Gonzalo Ares, Head of Pediatrics at the Hospital Rey Juan Carlos; Dr. Luis Chiva, Head of Gynecology at the Clínica Universidad de Navarra; Dr. Juan Ramón Truan, Secretary of Orthopedic Surgeons of Spain for the World (COEM), and Nicole Ndongala, CEO of the Karibu Association.
The opening conference was given by Dr. Gonzalo Ares, Head of Pediatrics at the Rey Juan Carlos Hospital. This was followed by a round table discussion moderated by Olga Tauler, a professional from the Monkole Hospital in Kinshasa (Congo).
The president of the Foundation Friends of Monkole, Enrique Barrio, pointed out that "with this day we want to make visible the impressive activity carried out as volunteers by our health professionals on the African continent".
In the last calendar year, the health professionals who volunteer with the Friends of Monkole Foundation, including gynecologists, cardiologists, traumatologists, pediatricians, midwives, dentists, ophthalmologists and nurses, have spent more than 2,000 hours with patients at the Congolese hospital, including consultations, surgeries and training.
The Friends of Monkole Foundation
The foundation, now in its twelfth year, "finances health care for Congolese families without resources through the Monkole mother and child hospital and its three medical clinics on the outskirts of the capital," according to the association.
Last year, Friends of Monkole served 40,708 people and indirectly helped 116,269.
Monkole Hospital was opened in a barracks in 1991 and now has 150 beds and more than 300 professionals. This center "aims to change healthcare in the Democratic Republic of Congo and, from there, in the whole of Africa, with the objective of focusing on the patient and not on economic or social aspects". On the other hand, "it was the first hospital to give food and sheets to its hospitalized patients. This year this hospital, located in the commune of Mont-Ngafula in Kinshasa (population 500,000) is celebrating its 33rd anniversary," says Friends of Monkole.
Recently, the hospital was awarded the Medal of Civil Merit by His Majesty King Felipe VI, which it received at the Spanish Embassy in Kinshasa at a ceremony presided over by the Spanish Ambassador to Kinshasa, His Majesty King Felipe VI, in a ceremony presided over by the Spanish Ambassador to Kinshasa, His Majesty King Felipe VI. Congo.
