Adrien provides technical assistance to local nonprofit organizations and to more than 120 churches working on Health Promotion and Education in Sub-Saharan Africa, Haiti, India and African Migrant Communities through American University Chaplaincy and the District of Columbia Baptist Convention.
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He provides consultations on health and education issues to agencies and institutions working with refugees and migrants in Maryland, Virginia and Washington DC.
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Adrien also promotes and provides platforms for social cohesion and integration for African migrants/refugees in London (UK), Baltimore and Silver Spring.
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Doctor and human rights activist, Dr. Alain Mukwege, whose work is inspired by his renowned father, Congolese physician Denis Mukwege, recipient of the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize, is researching a new way to help repair large fistulas, most commonly caused by complications during childbirth or as a result of sexual violence.
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Dr. Alain Mukwege currently resides in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he is undergoing training in obstetrics and gynecology. He is also a member of the advisory board of the American branch of the Panzi Foundation, founded by his father, which shares the name of the Panzi Hospital, where Dr. Denis Mukwege treats thousands of women who are victims of sexual violence. Panzi Foundation USA is a non-profit organization with a mission to provide holistic care (considering the "whole human being": physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual aspects) to victims of sexual violence and advocate for an end to violence against women and girls in the DR Congo and beyond its borders.
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Within this framework, Dr. Alain Mukwege's work also involves establishing partnerships between American institutions and the Panzi Hospital to help develop local Congolese capacities to address local issues. This has been manifested through collaborations with institutions such as the School of Nursing at the University of Michigan, where Dr. Alain Mukwege has been involved in research, and with World without Genocide, a human rights advocacy organization based at the Mitchell Hamline School of Law (Minnesota). World Without Genocide promotes education and action to protect the innocent, prevent genocide, pursue the guilty, and remember those whose lives and cultures have been destroyed by genocide. Dr. Alain Mukwege also conducts several conferences.
-Inspired by His Father
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From a young age, Alain Mukwege knew he wanted to become a doctor. "When I was about nine years old, I accompanied my father as he treated patients in a small field hospital. It was a very poor region of the country, but what struck me was the expression of gratitude when he helped people feel better. It was beyond material things," he stated in an interview with the School of Nursing at the University of Michigan.
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Dr. Alain Mukwege holds a Master's degree in clinical research and translational science, obtained in 2010 at the Evangelical University in Africa, a private evangelical Christian university in the DRC, located in the South Kivu province, in the city of Bukavu. His research focuses on developing mechanisms to improve women's health and prevent gender-based violence. In the same year, he began working at the Panzi Hospital as a physician and teaching assistant. Alain Mukwege believed that the best way for him to have a widespread impact was through research. Thus, in 2011, he traveled to the United States to pursue a Master's in clinical research at the Mayo Clinic, a world-renowned American hospital-university and research federation located in Rochester, Minnesota. In 2019-2020, the Mayo Clinic was ranked the best hospital in the United States, across all specialties, by the US News & World Report magazine.
-Research on Fistula Repair
-Furthermore, Dr. Alain Mukwege conducted research at the School of Nursing at the University of Michigan in the USA on a new way to help repair large fistulas (holes/tears) between the bladder and the vagina. These fistulas are most often caused by complications during childbirth or as a result of rape, especially when foreign objects are used. Fistulas can cause a constant leakage of urine from the vagina, making daily life difficult and stressful for survivors.
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Alain Mukwege, it is explained, who lives in the United States with his wife and children, plans to return to the DRC after his four-year residency in obstetrics and gynecology. "I want to acquire different knowledge and bring it back to the DRC to improve the quality of life for my people. That would be the best thing for me."
-As for comparisons with his father's great reputation, Dr. Alain Mukwege stated that the only pressure he feels comes from within. "He has done so much, and I want to contribute as much as he has. That's the pressure I feel. My dream is to continue his mission and vision. We must empower women because if you empower women, you are able to empower the entire community and future generations."
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+As for comparisons with his father's great reputation, Dr. Alain Mukwege stated that the only pressure he feels comes from within. "He has done so much, and I want to contribute as much as he has. That's the pressure I feel. My dream is to continue his mission and vision. We must empower women because if you empower women, you are able to empower the entire community and future generations."
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Upon completing his specialization in 1989, he returned to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, serving as a gynecologist at Lemera Hospital in the South Kivu province. He later became the medical director before being displaced by the 1996 war.
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In 1999, he founded the Panzi General Reference Hospital in Bukavu, where he serves as the medical director. Since the establishment of Panzi Hospital, Dr. Denis Mukwege has been working with and treating survivors of sexual violence and women with serious gynecological issues, including fistula repair.
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In 2009, he established the Panzi Foundation to coordinate support for women physically treated at Panzi Hospital, ensuring their socio-economic reintegration. Both the hospital and the foundation are recognized as pioneers in the fight against gender-based sexual violence and advocates for the rights of Congolese women.
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Survivors of sexual violence and women with serious gynecological issues at Panzi receive quality care ranging from basic to highly specialized treatments. They also receive psychological, legal, psycho-social, and socio-economic assistance as needed to optimize their healing.
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Dr. Mukwege collaborates with various local and international partners in clinical research, training, and diverse community programs. He advocates for quality healthcare for all, women's rights, and peace. He is the initiator of the Global Fund for Survivors of Sexual Violence, established in 2019.
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Graduating as a Doctor in Medical Sciences from the Université Libre de Bruxelles in September 2015, Dr. Mukwege is a university professor. He has also received several honorary doctorate degrees from around the world.
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His actions and dedication are globally recognized, earning him numerous awards, including the United Nations Prize for Human Rights (2008), the Officer of the Legion of Honor Medal from the French government (2013). He received the Sakharov Prize from the European Parliament for Freedom of Thought in 2014 and the Seoul Peace Prize in 2016. On December 10, 2018, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end the use of rape as a weapon of war and in armed conflicts.
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Dr. Denis Mukwege is married to Mrs. Mapendo Kaboyi. Together they have 5 children.
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