08/27/2003

Bunia General Hospital was built in 1956, when the DRC was called the Belgian Congo and was a Belgian colony.  It’s a bare-bones facility with bare walls and mattresses so thin and torn they offer little comfort from the beds’ hard wooden slats.  The staff of two doctors and 48 nurses is dedicated, caring and doing the best they can with very limited assets and facilities.  There are currently about 140 patients.  The Christian medical relief NGO MedAir, based in Switzerland, plays a reinforcing role by providing medicine, equipment, and upkeep to the hospital; it has just brought in some new beds.  Patients are currently treated for free, but beginning on October 1, 2003, they will be charged a small fee for services.  A consultation will cost about a nickel.