RAISE Projects

RAISE and the International Rescue Committee (IRC) are working with the DRC Ministry of Health to rebuild the country's damaged health system and improve reproductive health, from training health care workers to manage obstetric complications to ensuring that hospitals are stocked with life-saving medications.

On the ground

For over a decade, brutal conflict has torn DRC apart, displacing 1.5 million people and destroying the health care infrastructure - all at a great cost to the reproductive health (RH) of DRC's people. Women facing complications during pregnancy and birth are cut off from life-saving emergency obstetric care (EmOC). Sexual violence is widespread. Hospitals lack sterile surgical supplies, anaesthetics, and IV fluid.

Although DRC is slowly working its way to recovery, violence continues in the eastern provinces, and barriers to good health persist.

How RAISE is helping

The project supports RH services in the provinces of Kasai Occidental, Kinshasa, Province Orientale, and South Kivu.

The project...

Trains health workers to provide high-quality RH care

Trainers from the RAISE Training Programme train Ministry of Health physicians, nurses, and anaesthesiologists in EmOC, family planning, and post-abortion care.

Nurses trained to deliver family planning become outspoken advocates in the community. As more women and couples come to understand that there are simple, safe, and effective ways to prevent or delay pregnancy, demand for family planning in project areas has grown.

The project also trains workers to train their colleagues, helping to multiply the number of skilled RH workers.

Provides clinical care for survivors of sexual assault

Through its innovative multimedia tool, Clinical Care for Survivors of Sexual Assault (CCSAS), IRC trains health care staff at all levels to provide compassionate care to reduce physical and mental consequences of sexual assault.

Builds and renovates health care facilities

The projected recently added a new maternity ward and a private consult room to a main hospital in South Kivu Province. Now that facilities are improved, more women are coming to the hospital to deliver their babies and no women have died of obstetric complications since the start of 2009.

Provides ongoing technical and programme support for clinical services

Obtains drugs, equipment, and supplies

The project recently acquired infection prevention supplies for hospitals and kits for post-abortion care.

Conducted an extensive assessment of hospital facilities, training, and capacity needs, which RAISE and IRC use to plan future project activities