Support UM News on World Press Freedom Day: Give to help sustain and expand the storytelling capacity of UM News. Your donation today will transform information into inspiration and ensure we can continue sharing stories of God’s work in the world through The UMC. Help us reach our $10,000 goal and keep this vital ministry fair, faithful, trusted and free for all!

Church gives doctors in DRC technology tools

The North Katanga Conference is helping improve health care in Kamina, with support from the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries’ Global Health unit.

Conference executives, who were in the area at the end of last year to review 2017 annual conference minutes, took the opportunity to equip doctors with computers, mobile phones, modems and motorbikes. Global Health provided funding for the tools to promote and improve health management in the area.

“North Katanga has 54 health facilities, and data collection will be easy now, both electronically and on paper,” said Dr. Alexis Ngoy Kasole, medical coordinator.

During the conference meeting, Dr. Kaly Kayamba Tombe shared his gratitude as he received a motorbike for the Luena health center.

“The motorbike will help me to supervise health centers around Luena and visit patients during home recovery who come as far as 70 kilometers (roughly 43 miles),” Tombe said.

He said he will use his new computer daily to register patients for the center’s records, and the tools will contribute to improvements in patient health.

He noted that Luena is located near the Congo River and the population suffers from cholera every year. Data about cholera victims now will be easier to record, he said. The mobile phones also will help nurses collect data and register patients, as well as send reminders once patients return home.

“When patients come to the health facility, especially pregnant women after prenatal care, every evening, especially in rainy season, alert messages will be sent to them on the use of bed (mosquito) nets,” Tombe said, noting that women in the community oftentimes don’t make their own health care a priority.

He said the mobile phones will be especially helpful to pregnant women in remote areas around Luena.

“With the phone, community health workers will collect their numbers (so they can be contacted) to remind them to be referred to any health facility (for delivery),” he said.

Tombe thanked donors for the equipment and said it will help him contribute to good health care in the community and villages surrounding Luena.

Medical coordinator Kasole called on fellow doctors who received equipment to use it wisely and responsibly.

With these tools, he said, “Medical doctors in North Katanga are unstoppable for community health improvement.”

Musau is secretary of the Central Congo Conference and health board chair of the North Katanga Conference.

News media contact: Vicki Brown, Nashville, Tennessee, (615) 742-5470 or [email protected]. To read more United Methodist news, subscribe to the free Daily or Weekly Digests. 


Like what you're reading? Support the ministry of UM News! Your support ensures the latest denominational news, dynamic stories and informative articles will continue to connect our global community. Make a tax-deductible donation at ResourceUMC.org/GiveUMCom.

Sign up for our newsletter!

Subscribe Now
General Conference
The Rev. Gabriel Banga Mususwa. Photo courtesy of the author.

An appeal to hold General Conference outside US

The United Methodist Church’s top assembly has never met in the central conferences; the decision to hold the 2028 gathering in Minneapolis should be rescinded.
Disaster Relief
Patrick Abro (left), a United Methodist missionary serving as health operation manager in the Burundi Conference, and the Rev. Cimpaye Valentine (right), Bujumbura District superintendent, hand a bag of rice to flood survivors in Cibitoke, Burundi. With financial support from the United Methodist Committee on Relief, the church helped 140 households affected by severe flooding in the district. Photo by Jérôme Ndayisenga, UM News.

Church supports flood survivors in Burundi

With financial support from the United Methodist Committee on Relief, the church has distributed food and other supplies to hundreds of flood survivors.
Disaster Relief
Children and adults cross a mud-filled street in Kasaba, Congo, where flooding has killed at least 110 people, including five United Methodists, and destroyed hundreds of homes. A local United Methodist church was destroyed by floodwaters, affecting some 300 United Methodists. Photo courtesy of the Ecclesiastical District of Fizi.

Church members among dead in Congo floods

Five United Methodists killed, a church destroyed, and hundreds of families are affected by flooding in Eastern Congo.

United Methodist Communications is an agency of The United Methodist Church

©2025 United Methodist Communications. All Rights Reserved