MONUC Chief and basketball star Dikembe Mutombo meet, discuss DRC health care

Kinshasa, 2 September 2009 – Congolese-born basketball star Dikembe Mutombo paid a courtesy call to MONUC head Alan Doss at headquarters in Kinshasa last Friday. The two had an informal discussion of the challenges in providing medical care to impoverished and under-served populations in post-conflict societies, and Mr. Mutombo’s efforts in this direction through the Biamba Marie Mutombo hospital in Kinshasa, supported by his foundation.

During their discussion the Special Representative the Secretary General and the Unicef Goodwill Ambassador discussed the need for innovative arrangements for guaranteeing high quality and sustainable healthcare. A central question was how to help cover the costs of healthcare, particularly for poorer people.

Among the possible avenues to be explored was the possibility of creating frameworks to help people finance medical care. Mr. Mutombo has been discussing with the international financial organizations the possibility of creating a micro credit system to finance medical insurance.

Mr. Mutombo indicated that a meeting is planned in Chicago next October to kickstart this project, which is very close to his heart.

“In post conflict societies like the DRC, the many demands on the States resources make it impossible to meet all needs. Public-private partnerships offer a possible means for making available resources for essential services like medical care,” underlined Mr. Doss.

Mr. Mutombo, who is also a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, has had a distinguished career in NBA basketball. In 2007, his foundation opened a modern hospital named in honour of his mother, Biamba Marie Mutombo, in the Kinshasa suburb of Masina. “I wanted to aid the poorest people in this part of Kinshasa, which is also one of the most populous,” he said.

The 300-bed hospital has three operating rooms, an outpatient clinic, an emergency room and a pharmacy. It is equipped with high technology equipment that allows the hospital to carry out state of the art operations and surgeries, in specialized fields such cardiology, neurology and orthopedics, and pediatric services, among others.

Mr. Mutombo retired from professional basketball in April 2009 after 18 seasons at the highest levels of the NBA. He now hopes to concentrate his energy on his foundation and his family because “my life doesn’t stop, I will continue with my activities and I hope to help my compatriots who have suffered a lot,” he said.