FOCUS ON SKILLS TO STRENGTHEN SUSTAINABLY THE HEALTH SYSTEM

The greatest asset of a health system remains its human capital. Training healthcare professionals, program managers, and community stakeholders is an investment in a resource that will continue to generate benefits long after funding ends. Between 2023 and 2024, 80 professionals received specialized training in monitoring and evaluation and project management. These professionals now lead health programs using their own performance monitoring tools.

This skills development gradually reduces dependence on international technical assistance and promotes the emergence of national expertise capable of passing on its knowledge to future generations.

Capacity building also extended to health human resources and communities. Between 2024 and 2025, a total of 3,554 people were trained on HIV, tuberculosis, human rights, and community monitoring, 67% of whom were women. It would be helpful, however, to specify the breakdown of these beneficiaries by professional category, indicating whether they were doctors, nurses, biologists, pharmacists, laboratory technicians, community health workers, or other professionals. Distributed across the country's fifteen departments, these professionals and community actors now play a vital role as intermediaries between the population and health services. They direct people to testing, promote treatment adherence, strengthen prevention activities, and help reduce the stigma surrounding HIV and tuberculosis. Through a spillover effect, the skills acquired will continue to benefit tens of thousands of people in the coming years.

Improving the quality of care also involved infection prevention. Between 2024 and 2025, 1,499 healthcare workers were trained in infection prevention and control practices. Beyond the management of HIV and tuberculosis, these skills enhance patient safety across all healthcare facilities. Each trained professional then becomes a potential trainer for their colleagues, promoting the gradual dissemination of best practices throughout the healthcare system. The acquired skills remain available to address other health priorities in the country. Concurrently, three specialized experts were deployed to the National HIV Program, the National Tuberculosis Program, and the national laboratory network. The objective was not to replace national teams, but to provide coaching, with a view to the sustainable transfer of skills and strengthening the country's technical autonomy.

Thus, between 2023 and 2024, 80 professionals benefited from specialized training in monitoring and evaluation and project management..

INFRASTRUCTURES THAT BENEFITALL HEALTH PROGRAMS

The investments made are not limited to human resources. They also include infrastructure that will continue to serve the needs of HIV and tuberculosis control programs well beyond the current focus on these areas. The construction in 2024 of a warehouse at the Central Purchasing Agency for Essential Medicines (CAMEPS) is a prime example. This building, which meets international health standards, covers an area of ​​700 m², with a storage volume of nearly 3,500 m³, effectively halving the existing national storage capacity. The newly constructed facility comprises a warehouse, a cold storage room, and a technical room.

This facility was designed as a smart tool, adhering to environmental standards and offering functionality with a reduced carbon footprint, partially powered by renewable energy. This new storage capacity sustainably improves the availability of essential medicines, vaccines, and healthcare products, thereby reducing the risk of supply disruptions across the country.

The construction in 2024 of a warehouse at the Central Purchasing Agency for Essential Medicines (CAMEPS) is an emblematic example.

In addition, as part of the availability of products to the last mile, 30 district warehouses were rehabilitated and/or built in all departments of the country between 2023 and 2026.

These logistics platforms now facilitate the distribution of medicines to even the most remote areas. The benefits extend far beyond the programs funded by the Global Fund and also encompass the fight against malaria, maternal and child health, immunization, and the management of chronic diseases. The technical infrastructure for biomedical waste management and infection prevention and control has also been strengthened with the installation of 12 incinerators distributed across seven (7) departments, as well as the provision of refrigerated trucks for transporting samples and waste. This equipment allows for the safe disposal of biomedical waste, reducing the risk of contamination for healthcare workers, patients, and local communities.

Their lifespan, estimated at over fifteen years, guarantees a lasting impact on the quality of care. It should be noted that the availability of a biomedical waste incinerator is one of the criteria used to determine hospital classification.

Another major advance is the modernization of the supply chain for medicines and consumables through the gradual deployment of an integrated management system (IMS). Ultimately, this tool will allow for real-time monitoring of medicine and health product stocks, improving the transparency, traceability, and responsiveness of the entire distribution system.

The strengthening of diagnostic capacities is also a major achievement. The construction of the National P3-level Mycobacteriology Laboratory and the operationalization of the national mapping of GeneXpert platforms (46 in total) have significantly improved the diagnosis of tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis, MPOX, and Ebola virus disease. This equipment now represents a strategic asset for the surveillance of other emerging infectious diseases, thus strengthening the country's preparedness for future health crises. Finally, the acquisition and provision to the Congolese Ministry of Health and Population of eight (8) all-terrain vehicles and a logistics truck has improved the capacity for supervising and distributing health products. This increased mobility facilitates support for rural health facilities and ensures better access to medicines in the most isolated communities.

Improvements in storage and transport systems and computer equipment promoting the digitization of health data have largely contributed to the modernization of health infrastructure and equipment, enabling them to respond more effectively to many pathologies other than HIV and tuberculosis.

A LEGACY THAT TRANSCENDS  PROGRAMMES FINANCES

All of these investments illustrate a major shift in the approach to health development. Beyond responding to emergencies, they contribute to building a more robust and resilient health system, capable of sustainably meeting the needs of populations and ensuring its long-term viability. The infrastructure will remain operational for many years, trained professionals will continue to pass on their skills, while organizational innovations will progressively strengthen health governance.

Thus, the benefits of these investments will go far beyond the scope of HIV and tuberculosis control programs to contribute, in the long term, to the improvement of health care and services in the fifteen departments of the Republic of Congo.

Investments in the national response to HIV and tuberculosis have not only saved lives; they have also strengthened the foundations of the health system. By developing the skills of professionals, modernizing infrastructure, strengthening governance, and mobilizing communities, funding has created sustainable capacities that will benefit the entire population and enable a better response to health challenges. This vision fully illustrates the ambition of UNDP and its partners: to make every investment in a disease a catalyst for transformation across the entire health system.

Furthermore, as part of ensuring the availability of products at the last mile, 30 district warehouses were rehabilitated and/or built across all departments of the country between 2023 and 2026.

Long-term projection: 5,053 trained healthcare professionals – what human capital builds today protects tomorrow

The 3,554 people trained, the 1,499 health workers certified in infection prevention, and the 80 project managers trained: this generation of professionals trained through these grants will work for 20 to 30 years in the Congolese health system. Each of them will train, supervise, and influence other professionals.

Projection : If each trained professional influences 5 others in their career, more than 25,000 health workers will indirectly benefit from these training investments by 2040. This translates into millions of better quality consultations in all departments of Congo — a health added value that far exceeds the cost of initial training.

Similarly, the infrastructure built—warehouses, laboratories, incinerators—has a lifespan of 15 to 25 years. It will serve patients who are not yet born. That is what investment in human development is all about.build today what will protect future generations.