Luxembourg Donates €5m to Dr. Mukwege Hospital in Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Directorate for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Action of Luxembourg's Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs has confirmed that it is donating €5 million in financial aide towards the development of the Panzi hospital in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The Minister of Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid, Paulette Lenert, decided to grant the aid to help adapt the hospital to its director, the Nobel Peace and Sakharov Prize-winning, Dr. Denis Mukwege's holistic approach to treating victims of rape as a war crime.

In this context, Luxembourg will contribute €5 million to the construction project, the model of which is based on four pillars, including medical care as well as psychological, socio-economic and legal follow-ups.

This announcement makes Luxembourg the first international donor to confirm its support. Dr. Mukewege, who won the Nobel Peace Prize and the Sakharov Prize for his commitment to the fight against female genital mutilation in the Democratic Republic of Congo, commented: "The contribution of Luxembourg will make a real difference to serve women in need". 

The Luxembourg Red Cross, which is committed to resource mobilisation, has developed the master plan of the project, which will be implemented by LuxDev, the executive agency of the Luxembourg Directorate for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Action.