Lubumbashi

Lubumbashi is the second largest city in DR Congo. In Belgian Congo days it was known as Élisabethville. The current population of the metropolitan area is about 2.5 million. It is the mining capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and is a base for many of the country's largest mining companies. The Democratic Republic of Congo produces more than 3 percent of the world's copper and half of its cobalt. The elevation here in Lubumbashi is 3963 feet which serves to cool the climate. French is the official language, but most people also speak Swahili. 

 

DR Congo’s second temple is now under construction in Lubumbashi. I was able to stop by the construction site on the way from the airport to our hotel. It is expected to be completed in late 2025.

Teaching Bleeding After Birth and Essential Care of Small Babies in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo

This month I will be volunteering with #latterdaysaintcharities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Our team will help teach two medical courses to local doctors and nurses. The first course is called Helping Mothers Survive: Bleeding After Birth. We will teach various interventions which can be used when there is a postpartum hemorrhage. The second course is called Helping Babies Survive: Essential Care for Small Babies. In this course, we will help the providers recognize and respond to problems and danger signs in newborns.

This will be my fifth time teaching in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and my second time teaching in Lubumbashi, which is in the south of the country--just 18 miles from the border of Zambia. This will also be my 14th journey to the African continent. I always look forward to working with the excellent physicians, midwives, and nurses in Africa who are anxiously striving to improve health care in their communities.

Teaching Kit Distribution and Closing Ceremony

Today we distributed the MamaNatalie mannequins, manuals, and flip charts to the doctors and nurses so that they can return to their hospitals and train their colleagues. Latter-Saint Charities is employing a local manager to follow up with each of the participants to see how many people have been trained.

At the end of the course we held the closing ceremony during which certificates were given to each physician and midwife. Representatives from the Ministry of Health of the Republic of the Congo and the mission president and his first counselor also attended.

Our Wonderful Local Trainers

On Monday and Tuesday we taught the Bleeding After Birth curriculum to 8 local physicians and midwives. Then on Wednesday and Thursday the local trainers have helped train our larger group of about 30 health care professionals from various parts of the country. We are very grateful for their excellent teaching!

Cervical Lacerations

My teaching colleague told the participants about how his grandmother died of a postpartum hemorrhage soon after she gave birth to my colleague’s dad. The doctor at the time did not have the skills or the medications that we now have. More recently my colleague’s daughter also had a postpartum hemorrhage, but the doctor who was caring for her knew what to do and what medications to give to stop the bleeding and save her life.

One of the things that can cause postpartum hemorrhage is a laceration of the cervix. We continued our training today, and one of the elements of the training is practicing suturing cervical lacerations with the Mamanatalie mannequin.

Pantalon Antichoc

If a mother is hemorrhaging after delivery, several medications and maneuvers are used to help stop the bleeding. In a small rural hospital, if the bleeding continues, it may be necessary to transfer the patient to a larger center where surgery can be performed. As a temporizing measure prior to transport, a non-pneumatic anti-shock garment (NASG) or "pantalon antichoc" (in French) may be placed. It is placed on the legs and trunk to raise the blood pressure and push the blood toward the heart, lungs, and brain. The part that wraps around the abdomen pushes on the aorta to decrease the blood flow to the uterus. Today part of the training was to demonstrate and then role play with the pantalon antichoc.

Teaching Bleeding After Birth in Brazzaville

 

This week I am in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo, teaching Helping Mothers Survive with Latter-day Saint Charities. Using donated equipment, our team is teaching health care providers what to do if a mother hemorrhages after birth. The participants will then take the teaching kits to their local hospitals to train their colleagues.

Learn more: https://youtu.be/25rTyHnWR0E

The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, is a country of 5.5 million people in Central Africa. It is across the Congo River from the Democratic Republic of the Congo which is also known as Congo-Kinshasa.

This is my ninth journey to Africa and the third time I have taught in the Republic of the Congo. I participated in the first course taught in the Republic of the Congo by Latter-day Saint Charities in 2007 here in Brazzaville. I also taught in Pointe-Noire and Dolisie in 2018.