Kinshasa, July 7th, 2025 (CPA). –The construction of the biomedical analysis laboratory at the Kinkole referral hospital in the municipality of N’sele in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has been welcomed during a visit on Monday by a delegation from the medical facility and the French Development Agency (AFD).
« We are at more than 90% completion in the construction of this biomedical analysis laboratory at the Kinkole referral hospital. The modern equipment for this laboratory is ready, and it will be inaugurated in August or September 2025. We appreciate the work and equipment proposed, which have taken international standards into account, » has declared the medical biologist Simeon Tawite, representative of the laboratory project manager. The construction of this modern laboratory, with technical and financial support from AFD, is part of DRC-France cooperation through the ‘Laboh-Kin’ project, for which AFD has entrusted Expertise France with project management, with a total budget of €12 million, he has said.
The Laboh-KIN project, which is a continuation of the Franco-Congolese roadmap for combating Ebola, cholera, Mpox and other epidemics, aims to improve access to quality health laboratory services in six peri-urban health zones in Kinshasa, namely: Maluku 1, Makala, Mont-Ngafula 2, Kingasani and Kinkole. It also aims to support their integration into a strengthened provincial epidemiological surveillance system, he has added. For his part, Dr Samy Mvutukulu, chief of staff at the Kinkole referral hospital, has described the laboratory as a jewel that needs to be protected through a series of training courses with French expertise on maintenance and upgrading staff skills in the use of the laboratory’s modern equipment.
He has thanked the AFD for this life-saving work, which will bring relief to the population in this eastern part of Kinshasa, before promising good management and praising the cooperation between DRC and France. Since the signing of the memorandum of understanding between DRC and the AFD Group in 2021, France has been strengthening a strategic partnership based on trust, respect and common objectives every year. To date, the initial commitments have not only been met but greatly exceeded, with more than €700 million mobilised to support the country’s priorities, we have learned. CPA/