Subsaharan Africa

SUPPORT FOR A BETTER HEALTH CARE SYSTEM IN KINSHASA

In N’Djili-Brasserie, a peri-urban neighbourhood 14 kilometres from downtown Kinshasa, Alternatives has started a project to help a community in need.

The project aims to: 

In DRC, AIDS affects a large portion of the population at a rate of 5%. With an average of 173,000 new cases each year, this number will probably continue to grow. Several aggravating factors, such as the war and mass displacement, have likely contributed to the spread of HIV and other STDs. Hospitals are currently overrun with HIV patients. At the Kisangani hospital, 68% of its patients are expected to die of AIDS, compared to 75% at the hospital in Kikwit.

Context:

Classified among the poorest nations of the world for several years now, since 1993 Burundi has faced an armed conflict that has severely affected all sectors of society. Other unfavourable factors have contributed to the despairs of poverty, including movement of refugees, recurring droughts and a severe malaria epidemic.

Project:

Alternatives and its partners have developed a rehabilitation project in the provinces of Kayanza, Muramvya, Bururi and Bujumbura.

This project was created by Alternatives in collaboration with ADRA, the Angola Development Coalition and local NGOs.

Context:

The project was born out of a post-civil war context, characterized by high inflation, immobilized businesses, excessively high unemployment rates and mass exoduses from rural regions due to violence and instability. The public social support system was being thinly distributed, which caused increased violence in cities. In short, the country was struggling to recover from fifteen years of conflict.

Context

The prolonged war in Angola has seriously impacted the quality of school conditions, on both academic and material levels, which in turn affects human development potential, social dialogue and the power of Angolan democratic institutions. Fleeing combat zones and in constant pursuit of safety, over the past years parents and teachers have struggled to provide schooling for their children.

Objectives

In 2002, Alternatives was involved in the creation of the popular research and education group Research & Education in Development, mainly through developing a portal for research and networking on South African social movements. Using the content management system Drupal, the portal enables the social science research community to publish material, exchange points of view and stay on top of social movements in Southern Africa.