DRC: the women invited to take an interest in clinical engineering

Kinshasa, April 1^st, 2025 (CPA) – The women of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have been invited on Monday in Kinshasa to take an interest in clinical engineering to revolutionise the country’s health system, at the 1^st edition of the Congolese women’s forum organised as part of the closing of Women’s Month. « The woman has the potential to make a contribution in engineering and in all the other sciences (…). In my own way, I’m trying to make my contribution to revolutionising the healthcare system. I’m sure there are some brains here, some even brighter than me.  I think that clinical engineering, universal health coverage (UHC) and the national agency for clinical engineering and digital health (ANICNS) are waiting for you », has declared Ms Rebecca Welo, Accountant at ANICNS. « It has been question to talk about clinical engineering with all its protocols and processes for maintaining bio-medical equipment », she has added. « We have biomedical equipment in hospitals.  To ensure the longevity of this equipment, it is important to maintain it, because it is largely responsible for our health. It is therefore a matter of public health, and we have mentioned the role of ANICNS in this regulation of clinical engineering », has continued Ms Welo, before warning that if this equipment fails, it could lead to a poor prognosis and harm the patient’s health. She has noted that ANICNS is responsible for regulating clinical engineering, and for crediting the various service providers who are supposed to be doing this work in hospitals. For her, clinical engineering is a speciality of biomedical engineering responsible for using medical technology to optimise the delivery of healthcare. For her part, Ms Edith Mbelu, legal assistant at ANICNS, who gave a presentation on the rights and duties of women, has indicated that the woman has the right to good health. “At this moment at ANICNS, we are working to make women’s health care accessible and improve it « , she has said. She has at the same time urged the women to continue their training and to campaign for their rights to be respected. ANICNS is a public institution whose mission is to make digital health and clinical engineering a lever for improving the quality of healthcare in DRC. Several themes have been analysed during this forum organised, among others, by the International Women’s Solidarity Network and the national agency for clinical engineering and digital health (ANICNS). These included « health engineering in DRC, the place of women and young girls » and « women as symbols of commitment and resilience ».