For fifteen years, the Mulamba Hospital has been supporting rural communities in South Kivu, driven by a simple conviction: rural populations deserve access to quality care and dignified treatment, without distance or hardship standing as a sentence. As we commemorate almost two decades of community service, we look back on a story that continues to transform lives.
A response to a health and humanitarian emergency
Founded in 2011, Mulamba Hospital responded to a particularly troubling health and humanitarian reality. At the time, no health facility was close enough to ease the burden of a long journey to care for survivors of sexual violence. Indeed, the town was located roughly 25 kilometers from the Walungu General Referral Hospital, 20 kilometers from the one in Mubumbano, and more than 20 kilometers from the Kaniola General Referral Hospital. As for Panzi Hospital, the center of excellence for maternal health and for the care of survivors of sexual violence, it stood nearly 70 kilometers away. For a woman who had suffered sexual violence, pain, stigma, and often mobility challenges, traveling such a distance to access specialized care could amount to an almost insurmountable barrier.
It thus became imperative to bring a quality medical and holistic response closer to these communities. The Mulamba One Stop Center emerged as a nearby alternative to Panzi, close enough to be accessible to survivors from rural areas, with a clear goal: to progressively replicate the holistic care model developed at Panzi, combining medical care, psychosocial support, legal assistance, and socio-economic reintegration. In this way, the Mulamba Hospital Center turned a geographic constraint into an opportunity.
One enduring commitment
Fifteen years after its inauguration, the Mulamba Hospital Center still embodies the conviction upheld by Panzi Foundation and its founder: dignity is not negotiable, and distance should never determine who has a right to care and who does not. Even as eastern DRC continues to face pressing health and security challenges, this institution stands as proof that solutions are within reach, if we’re committed to building them close to the communities that need them most. In 2025 alone, our teams cared for 292 survivors of sexual violence, provided psychosocial support to 570 beneficiaries, and assisted 744 childbirths under the best possible conditions.
While this anniversary is a moment of celebration, it is also a reminder of the reality on the ground: Mulamba Hospital continues its mission in a difficult context, and it relies on the continued support of its partners to keep providing quality care to rural populations in South Kivu. Behind every consultation, every assisted childbirth, every survivor supported, there is a life resuming its course and a community regaining trust.
“In the face of adversity, we must never lose hope. Hope is the light that guides our actions in the darkest moments, and our actions will contribute to the return of peace and dignity for all.” — Dr. Denis Mukwege
