DRC—President Felix Tshisekedi Tshilombo of the Democratic Republic Congo (DRC), has given his full backing to phase one of Cingulate Medical and MobileODT’s large-scale national cervical cancer and breast cancer screening and treatment program in the country.
The program is the result of the forward-thinking vision of President Felix Tshisekedi to highlight the importance of women’s health in the DRC, and for the DRC to be recognized as a leading country and a bastion for women’s health in Africa.
This project will not only cover cervical and breast cancer, but President Tshisekedi has supported the inclusion of free pregnancy and childbirth programs for all women in the DRC.
The Ministry of Health will oversee and aim to establish health clinics where women’s health services will count for a major part.
This program will allow millions of Congolese women access to lifesaving healthcare solutions.
Moreover, as part of the initial step of the Universal Health Coverage healthcare system set up in March 2023, free maternal services, in partnership with Cingulate Medical and MobileODT, will include free screening and testing for cervical and breast cancers.
President Tshisekedi and the Ministry of Health aim to establish over 1,000 women’s health clinics, enhancing women’s healthcare in the DRC, and positioning the country as a leader in women’s health in Africa.
This will be the most comprehensive and largest cervical and breast cancer screening and treatment program in Africa.
The program will adopt the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommended guidelines for early detection and treatment of cancer among women.
President Tshisekedi and Minister of Health, Dr. Kamba Roger Samuel, will also launch free maternity services as part of the new universal healthcare initiative.
“The lack of healthcare opportunities for Congolese women led us to embark on this important initiative and change the paradigm,” says Dr Kamba.
Dr. Kamba also noted that they are launching a large-scale national screening project, leveraging high technology to perform screening and treatment at an unprecedented scale.
“Our aim is to eradicate cervical cancer in DRC through early detection and treatment and reduce mortality,” Dr. Kamba added.
Mobile ODT & Cingulate Medical support DRC efforts in women’s health
Mobile ODT and Cingulate Medical will also assist the Ministry of Health in developing a cancer registry.
This registry is necessary for the DRC health system for better epidemiological monitoring of cancer and surveillance data and for the development of cancer control policies and their integration into primary health care.
Joseph Hamou, CEO of Cingulate Medical noted that early screening and detection saves lives and that Cingulate could not be prouder to partner with MobileODT and bring these life-saving technologies to Congolese women.
“We also want to thank President Tshisekedi for prioritizing women’s health. The President is a visionary who has made women’s healthcare a priority and this will not only save lives but firmly places the DRC as a leader in healthcare in Africa,” said Hamou.
Cingulate Medical is a global company that sources and provides solutions to some of the most challenging healthcare issues in the world today.
Cingulate Medical works extensively in the Democratic Republic of Congo providing medical and philanthropic solutions.
Leon Boston, CEO of MobileODT said that he was extremely proud that the MobileODT screening and treatment technologies have been selected to be part of this endeavor in the DRC.
“Our turnkey screen and treat offering, from HPV testing to visual inspection and thermocoagulation treatment offers a complete single-visit solution. With our single-visit solution, we overcome the two main issues in the developing world: accessibility and loss to follow-up,” said Leon Boston.
MobileODT is a global FemTech company providing complete turnkey screening and treatment solutions for women’s health.
MobileODT products are sold in over 60 countries worldwide, including leading healthcare organizations in the US.
The company is a prominent provider of women’s health technologies to government programs around the world. MobileODT is based in Tel Aviv and led by Leon Ariel Boston.
Women’s health needs more attention in Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa alone accounts for about 66% (196,000) of estimated global maternal deaths, according to a joint report released by WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, and the World Bank Group published in 2019.
Moreover, cervical and breast cancers are the top two cancers among women in the DRC and close to 8,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer, with 5,550 dying from it every year.
Additionally, breast cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa, a global region.
Decentralizing cancer diagnosis and treatment capabilities would provide more people in provinces across the DRC with better access to cancer care, a team of international experts concluded following a six-month imPACT Review requested by the DRC’s Ministry of Health.
The team, brought together by the IAEA, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), carried out virtual interviews with staff from 21 facilities across the Kinshasa, Tshopo, Haut Katanga, and South Kivu provinces.
The DRC faces challenges in delivering services to diagnose and treat cancer patients across its vast territory.
Most diagnostic and treatment services are available in private facilities in Kinshasa, and considerable disparity exists in access to diagnostic services across the country.
Assessing the DRC’s cancer control needs and capacities, experts have noted the importance of training staff in all areas of cancer control, and of strengthening the capacity of the National Centre for the Fight against Cancer, the country’s main coordination body set up in 2020.
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