About usCoursesResearch projectsRecent publicationsResearchersAbout us The Regional School of Public Health (Ecole Régionale de Santé Public, ERSP, in French) was founded in 2009 and operates in the faculty of Medicine of the Université Catholique de Bukavu. It is one of the three schools of public health organizing a master of public health (MPH) program in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The ERSP was created to tackle the dearth of public health specialists in the provinces of Sud-Kivu, Nord-Kivu, Maniema, Province Orientale and in other countries of the Great Lakes Region, in the aftermath of a protracted socio-political instability that caused a massive flight of health professionals. Our main objective is to efficiently contribute to the development of the health sector and public health research in the Great Lakes Region. The ERSP, through its multidisciplinary training scheme and research projects, is geared towards addressing the burning local and global health challenges by harnessing local resources, partnerships, national and international cooperation. Our program is open to medical doctors, pharmacists, nurses, biologists, veterinaries, economists, statisticians, anthropologists, lawyers, engineers in water and sanitation, demographers, etc The MPH courses are organized within the premises of the faculty of Medicine located in the compound of the Provincial General Referral Hospital of Bukavu. This MPH degree prepares graduates to a variety of job opportunities both in the Democratic Republic of Congo and abroad, including managerial positions, public health policy and administration, monitoring and evaluation, health sector governance, health promotion, disease control and outbreaks investigation, partnerships and resource mobilization, epidemiological research, implementation research, public health programs and projects management, and many others. Admission to this program is subject to a degree in General Medicine, social sciences (Bac+5) or an equivalent field with a 2-year professional experience in health sector. Training tracks Community Health Methods in Public and Community Health (10 modules- 28 ECTS) Public Health Planning and Management (6 modules- 20 ECTS) Family and Community Health (8 modules – 18 ECTS) Conflict Prevention and resolution (4 modules-6 ECTS) Health Economics Elementary Notions in Public Health and Health Economics (2 modules- 36 ECTS) Health financing (2 modules- 6 ECTS) Management tools in public health (9 modules – 25 ECTS) Marketing and decisions analysis (2 modules – 6ECTS) Conflict prevention and resolution (3 modules – 5 ECTS) Courses Intitulé du cours Facilitateur Crédits MODULES EN TRONC COMMUN 59 1 Concepts et méthodes en santé publique Pr Ghislain BISIMWA 2 2 Notions de base en Economie et Economie de la Santé Prof Mutabazi 4 3 Démographie et populations spécifiques Pr Eugénie KABALI 2 4 Recherche Appliquée (méthodes quantitatives de recherche) Prof Mwene-Batu 4 5 Communication scientifique Prof Mwene-Batu 2 7 Médecine du travail Dr Rosine BIGIRINAMA 2 8 Ethique et Résolution des conflits Prof MUSANGANYA 2 9 Bio-statistique: notions de base, tests statistiques et analyses de données Dr Amani Ngaboyeka 4 10 Introduction au Système d’Information Géographique (avec Qgis) Dr Rosine BIGIRINAMA 2 11 Méthodes qualitatives de recherche en Santé Publique Dr Molima, Dr Makali 2 12 Epidémiologie Pr MITANGALA 4 13 Notions de base en Informatique de Gestion et Analyse de données (Excel, Stata, Anthro) Dr Amani NGABOYEKA 4 14 Exercices intégrés : Epidémiologie et statistiques Dr Cimanuka, Dr Chiribagula, Dr Ngaboyeka 4 15 Developpement et évaluation économique CT Guillaume BIDUBULA/Dr Makali 2 16 Gestion et Administration en Santé Publique : Ressources humaines Dr Bertin Kasongo 1 Ressources pharmaceutiques, matérielles et équipement Pr Antoine SADIKI 2 Ressources financières et comptabilité Pr MUTABAZI 1 Financement basé sur les performances Dr Molima 1 Mutuelles de santé et assurance santé Charles MUSHAGALUSA 1 17 Planification, implémentation, monitoring et évaluation sanitaire Pr Karemere 4 18 Politiques, Organisation, structures et régulation des systèmes de santé Pr Karemere 4 19 Hygiène et santé environnementale Dr Rosine BIGIRINAMA 2 20 Anthropologie médicale et sociologie de la santé Pr Bernard Ugeux 2 21 Droit en Santé Pr MUBALAMA 1 MODULES ECONOMIE DE LA SANTE 17 22 Econométrie et Mathématiques Prof Mutabazi & Dr Ngaboyeka 4 24 Budget et comptabilité en santé Budget, contrôle budgétaire et politique de tarification Pr Mutabazi 2 Comptabilité générale et analytique des hôpitaux Pr Mutabazi 2 25 Négociation et approche contractuelle et plaidoyer Dr Christian MOLIMA 1 26 Approvisionnement et passation des marchés Pr Wenceslas BUSANE 2 27 Marketing social Charles Mushagalusa 2 28 Analyses des décisions managériales et cliniques (Tronc commun) Prof Bisimwa 4 MODULES SANTE COMMUNAUTAIRE 15 29 Système d’information sanitaire Pr MITANGALA 2 30 Nutrition en Santé Publique Pr Dr Mwene-batu 2 31 Santé de la Mère et de l’Enfant Pr Ghislain BISIMWA 2 33 Santé Mentale et Facteurs psychologiques en Santé Publique Dr Achille Bapolisi 3 34 Contrôle des maladies Maladies transmissibles Dr Rosine BIGIRINAMA 2 Maladies non transmissibles Pr Dr Mwene-batu 2 30 Promotion de la santé dans les pays en développement Dr Bertin KASONGO 2 Total 91 Research projects 1. PRD – Etude d’implantation d’un modèle de prise en charge psycho-médico-sociale au niveau du centre de santé https://www.ares-ac.be/en/cooperation-au-developpement/pays-projets/projets-dans-le-monde/item/145-prd-etude-d-implantation-d-un-modele-de-prise-en-charge-psycho-medico-sociale-au-niveau-du-centre-de-sante Partners: Catholic University of Louvain (UCLouvain, Free University of Brussels, Louvain cooperation, South Kivu Provincial Health Division Promotor: Jean Macq (UClouvain) DRC coordinator: Prof Ghislain Bisimwa Balaluka DRC operational coordinator: Dr Espoir Bwenge Malembaka 2. RIPSEC: Renforcement Institutionnelle des Politiques de Santé basée sur l’Evidence en RDC https://ripsec.org UCB coordinator: Prof Ghislain Bisimwa Balaluka Partners: University of Lubumbashi (UNILU), University of Kinshasa (UNIKIN), Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale (INRB), Ecole National de Santé Publique (ENSP, Morocco and Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp (Belgium). 3. The use of health facility data to generate maternal and child health statistics in the Kivu Principal investigator: Dr Espoir Bwenge Malembaka Partner: Countdown to 2030 women’s, children’s and adolescent’s health Recent publications Bedha A, Shindano T, Hermans MP, Havelange V, Makali S, Minani J, Ngaboyeka G, Kunaba E, Donnen P, Dramaix M, Bisimwa G & Mwene-Batu P. (2023). Association between severe acute malnutrition in childhood and hematological disorders in adulthood: the Lwiro follow-up study in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. BMC Nutr 9, 128. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40795-023-00783-0 Bigirinama RN, Makali SL, Mothupi MC, Chiribagula CZ, St Louis P, Mwene-Batu PL, Bisimwa GB, Mwendo AT & Porignon DG. (2023). Ensuring leadership at the operational level of a health system in protracted crisis context: a cross-sectional qualitative study covering 8 health districts in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. BMC Health Serv Res 23, 1362. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-023-10336-7 Makali SL, Karemere H, Banywesize R, Eboma CM, Mwene-Batu P, Lembebu C, Ferrari G, Paul E, Balaluka GB, & Donnen, P. (2023). Adaptive Mechanisms of Health Zones to Chronic Traumatic Events in Eastern DRC: A Multiple Case Study. International Journal of Health Policy and Management, (), -. DOI: 10.34172/ijhpm.2023.8001 Molima CEN, Karemere H, Makali S, Bisimwa G & Macq J. (2023). Is a bio-psychosocial approach model possible at the first level of health services in the Democratic Republic of Congo? An organizational analysis of six health centers in South Kivu. BMC Health Serv Res 23, 1238. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-023-10216-0 Makali SL, Lembebu JC, Boroto R, Zalinga CC, Bugugu D, Lurhangire E, Bigirinama R, Chimanuka C, Mwene-Batu P, Molima C, Mendoza JR, Ferrari G, Merten S & Bisimwa G. (2023). Violence against health care workers in a crisis context: a mixed cross-sectional study in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Confl Health 17, 44. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13031-023-00541-w Read moreResearchers Ghislain Bisimwa Balaluka, MD, PhD Doctor of Medicine from the University of Kinshasa (1993). He completed his Master’s in Public Health (1998-1999) and his Advanced Studies Diploma (2005-2006) at the School of Public Health of the Université Libre de Bruxelles before obtaining his Ph.D. in Health Sciences in July 2012 from the same university. He has been a researcher at the Centre de Recherche en Sciences Naturelles de Lwiro (formerly IRSAC) since 1994 and collaborated with the Medical Center of the Université Libre de Bruxelles on its cooperation activities from 1994 to 2013 in implementing research projects on nutrition and the health system in South Kivu. A former Provincial Medical Inspector for the province of South Kivu, he continues to collaborate with the Ministry of Public Health (DEP-Santé) in the reform of the health system and in the implementation of the ‘basket-fund’ approach at the level of the Provincial Health Divisions (DPS). He is also a member of the Working Group for Vaccine Coverage in the DRC (GTCV). He is Honorary Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the Université Catholique de Bukavu (UCB) (2013-2019) and Honorary Director of the UCB’s school of public health, the “Ecole Regionale de Santé Publique” (2013-2023). He is currently the Rector of the UCB since May 2023. He is a co-founder of the health knowledge center of the DRC, the “Centre de Connaissance en Santé de la RDC (CCSC). Areas of interest – Nutrition – Maternal and child health – Organization of health systems in crisis contexts Contacts: +243998088051 bisimwa.balaluka@ucbukavu.ac.cd ORCID number : https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4799-1115 MWENE-BATU LYAB PACIFIQUE, MD, MPH, PhD PhD in Public Health at the School of Public Health of the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and Medical doctor from the Université catholique de Bukavu (UCB). Senior Researcher affiliated at the Regional School of Public Health of Université Catholique de Bukavu (UCB). He’s actually the director of the regional School of Public Health of the UCB in Eastern DRC. He’s leading the SDR formative research in DRC. He’s experienced in maternal and neonatal health, child nutrition, Non-communicable chronic diseases, and the health system organization in post-conflict settings. He’s the Co-Investigator of EQUAL Project in DRC (Ensuring Quality Access and Learning for mothers and newborns in conflicts affected context). He’s also experienced in management of medical emergencies and resuscitation. He is also an expert in the evaluation and capitalization of health interventions and a member of the Centre de Connaissances en Santé en RDC (CCSC) and CHH-Lancet Commission. Areas of interest – Nutrition – Maternal and child health Contacts +243 993 454 149 lyab.pacifique@ucbukavu.ac.cd https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=_JlYhqQAAAAJ&hl=en https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0413 Samuel LWAMUSHI MAKALI, MD, MPH, PhD Samuel L. Makali is a medical doctor graduated from the Catholic University of Bukavu (UCB), DRCongo (2009-2016). In parallel with his clinical training as an emergency and intensive care intern at the Bukavu Provincial General Reference Hospital (HPGRB), he completed an additional master’s degree in public health (community health) at the same university (2016-2018). He holds a PhD in public health (health policies and systems) from the Université Libre de Bruxelles (2021-2024) on the theme of health system resilience in complex crisis situations. He is currently an Associate Professor at the UCB – Faculty of Medicine (within the Ecole Régionale de Santé Publique) and head of UCB’s internal quality assurance unit. He has several scientific publications in the field of health policies and systems in the context of fragility and conflict (ORCID : https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3538-1715 ; WOS ID : IWU-9108-2023). He is also an expert in the evaluation and capitalisation of health interventions. He is a member of the Centre de Connaissances en Santé en RDC (CCSC), the International Society of Global Health (ISoGH) and The Resilience Collaborative (TRC). Fields of interest – Global health – Community health – Health policies and systems – Health system strengthening and resilience in fragile and conflict settings Contacts +243 993 487 370 makali.lwamushi@ucbukavu.ac.cd Christine Chimanuka Murhima’alika, MD, MPH. PhD Student Université Libre de Bruxelles Ms Christine Chimanuka Murhima’alika holds a medical degree and a master’s degree in public health from the Catholic University of Bukavu (UCB). She is an expert in the Democratic Republic of Congo on the use of radioactive methods in medicine and nutrition (International Atomic Energy Agency training in the evaluation of body composition and milk secretion using the deuterium dilution method since 2019). She has been a researcher at UBC’s École Régionale de Santé Publique since 2018 and is preparing her PhD in Public Health Sciences at the Université Libre de Bruxelles. Her research work through the “Lwiro cohort” contributes to the scientific exploration of the long-term effects of acute malnutrition during childhood and the intergenerational aspects of malnutrition in the context of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Areas of interest: – Nutrition and Mother-Child Cutting Health, – Health policies with a focus on health system financing and implementation of universal health coverage in conflict-affected regions. Contacts: + 243 821116508 chimanuka.murhimaalika@ucbukavu.ac.cd ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3065-3144 Christian Molima Eboma Ndjangulu, MD, MPH, PhD Student Christian Molima Eboma Ndjangulu is a health professional who graduated in Medicine from the Catholic University of Bukavu (UCB) in 2011, followed by a Master’s in Public Health from the Catholic University of Louvain (UCL) in 2014. He has worked as a public health consultant for the DRC Ministry of Health and as a research assistant at the Regional School of Public Health at UCB.He is currently finalizing his PhD in Public Health Sciences at the Institut de Recherche Santé et Société (IRSS)/School of Public Health at UCL. Focusing on the front-line care provision, it looks at the barriers and facilitators in implementing a biopsychosocial model of front-line care in South Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Her professional career has been marked by fruitful collaborations with renowned non-governmental organizations in the fight against HIV and the planning and implementation of health assessments in the North Kivu region. Alongside his work with NGOs, Christian has carried out several consultancy assignments, ensuring the collection and quality of quantitative and qualitative data, as a co-investigator in studies with the World Bank and the WHO that have significantly impacted health policies in the DRC. He has played a role in designing and implementing public health programs and incorporating qualitative research into health systems. Areas of interest: – Global Health – Holistic approaches to care – Organization of health services – Health reforms Contacts: +243997717425 molima.eboma@ucbukavu.ac.cd ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6833-7414 Armand Mulume Bisimwa, MD, MPH Armand B. Mulume is a medical doctor graduated from the Catholic University of Bukavu (UCB), DR Congo (2013-2021). He has a clinical training experience as an resident in surgery at the Bukavu Provincial General Reference Hospital (HPGRB) from November 2021 to January 2023. After he completed an additional master’s degree in public health (community health) at the same university (2023-2024). Since May 2024, he has been a member of the CHH-Lancet Commission on Health, Conflict, and Forced Displacement, within Paul Spiegel’s team. He is also a member of the Centre de Connaissances en Santé en République Démocratique du Congo (CCSC-asbl). Now, he is a research assistant at the Regional School of Public Health of the Catholic University of Bukavu since 2024. Areas of interest: – Global health – Community health – Health policies and systems – Humanitarian System Contacts: +243 852 582 303 MUGISHO Byamungu Christian, MD, MPH Mugisho Byamungu Christian is a medical doctor who graduated from the Catholic University of Bukavu (UCB) in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where he studied from 2013 to 2021. After graduating, he worked as an attending physician at the Nutricia Hospital Center. He also pursued a complementary master’s degree in public health (community health), at the same university, between 2021 and 2023. Currently, he holds the position of research assistant at UCB, within the Faculty of Medicine (Regional School of Public Health). As part of his research, he is involved in a project aimed at ensuring access to quality care and learning for mothers and newborns in Conflict-Affected areas in the DRC. ( https://orcid.org/0009-0007-7650-0107) Areas of interest: – Maternal and neonatal health – Epidemiology of infectious diseases – Nutrition Contacts: +243 975857337 mugishobyamungu@ucbukavu.ac.cd Emmanuel Lurhangire Ongezi, MD, MPH Emmanuel Lurhangire, a physician trained at the Catholic University of Bukavu (UCB), holds a specialized master’s degree in Public Health from the Regional School of Public Health (ERSP-UCB). An experienced public health researcher with expertise in mixed-method designs, he contributes to the design, implementation, and monitoring of health projects. He is a member of a research unit at ERSP-UCB in collaboration with Swiss-TPH and ICRC, focusing on violence against healthcare workers in crisis settings, with ongoing projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Iraq. Having participated in the management of the 10th Ebola epidemic in the DRC—the deadliest worldwide—alongside the Ministry of Health and WHO, he has developed expertise in IPC (infection prevention and control), epidemic management, and health emergency response in complex humanitarian and conflict settings. He is the co-author of scientific publications on violence against healthcare workers, nutrition, and maternal-child health (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-0706-6902), contributing consistently to improving health system resilience and the overall well-being of populations. Areas of interest: – Violence against healthcare workers – Epidemic preparedness, surveillance, and response – Operational, clinical, and epidemiological research – Health system resilience in conflict settings – Nutrition and maternal-child health Contacts: +(243)997858823 lurhangire.ongezi@ucbukavu.ac.cd