Press Releases
USAID Strengthens The Capacity of Kinshasa School of Public Health
Kinshasa, March 10, 2009
The United States Government, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has renewed its technical and financial support to the Kinshasa School of Public Health (KSPH). Nearly $1,000,000 will be invested to respond to a critical need in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for trained health care professionals and leaders. In 2009, USAID will strengthen the institutional capacity of the KSPH through technical assistance, upgrading equipment, and developing information technology systems. This assistance will increase professional public health capacity in the DRC. Through this support, USAID is also sponsoring 25 merit-based scholarships for Masters of Public Health students, at least 10 of which will be awarded to women. An additional four public health PhD scholarships will also be awarded.
IMPACT
This USAID support aims to improve the Kinshasa School of Public Health’s institutional capacity and its ability to produce quality public health leaders who are trained to address the critical health care issues currently facing the DRC.
In 1980 the DRC adopted the policy of “Primary Health Care” as a national strategy to attain the objective of “Health for All”. To meet this goal, there is an urgent need for qualified public health professionals to address the many and varied health challenges confronting the DRC at the national, provincial, and health zone levels. Health workers must be prepared to plan, implement, and evaluate programs and activities that effectively prevent and respond to public health threats. Professional, quality training and experience among health workers improves the national health care system and the quality of service delivery.
With the assistance from USAID, a consortium of American universities, coordinated by Tulane University, supported the Government of DRC to open the School of Public Health in Kinshasa in 1984. The United States Government through USAID has supported professional technical assistance to the Kinshasa School of Public Health (KSPH) for 12 years, investing more than $10,000,000 in infrastructure, equipment, laboratories, and training. This support has also directly resulted in 318 Master of Public Health graduates and 13 Public Health Doctoral candidates and graduates.