“Your presence here today and the assessment you will make of the situation on the ground will certainly enable you to identify the seriousness of the war and the appropriate measures to propose to the international bodies to put an end to it”.
These are the words of Dr. Mukwege, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Panzi Foundation and Medical Director of Panzi Hospital.
This was the message read out at Panzi Hospital on Wednesday May 29, 2024 by the Vice-President of Panzi Foundation’s Board of Directors, Madame Christine Deschryver Schuler, in front of some twenty leaders gathered under the label Groupe de Coordination des Partenaires.
The group that visited Panzi included representatives from Monusco, the European Union, Switzerland, Japan, Sweden, Belgium, France, Great Britain, USAID (USA), Germany, GIZ, UNDP, the International NGO Forum, national NGOs, and the Congolese government.
The delegation is touring the partner organizations to ascertain their apprehensions and expectations regarding the transition in the process of MONUSCO’s withdrawal.
For Mr Bruno Lemarquis, the head of the delegation, “it is important that the transitional period be a success in South Kivu”.
This is why they are counting on experienced organizations such as the hospital and Panzi Foundation.
He points out that, with the departure of Monusco, the UN agencies (UNDP, UNFPA, UN Women) and state partners already operating in the field will be able to step up their efforts.
With Dr. Mukwege on the road, the Panzi team shared the main points of the Nobel Prize winner’s plea for the return of lasting peace. Above all, it insisted on the responsibility of the international community, represented by this delegation, to get away from double standards and double talk.
The head of MONUSCO returned to the survivors, promising to carry their expectations of an end to war and peace. He did not fail to castigate the “string-pullers”.
Read Dr. Mukwege’s full message (French).