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.

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.

Courses Offererd at ERSP (in French):

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
Cours RPSS
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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)

Admission requirements

For someone to be admitted to this program, they should hold a degree in General Medicine, social sciences (Bac+5) or an equivalent field with a 2-year professional experience in health sector.

Eligible profiles

Medical doctors, pharmacists, nurses, biologists, veterinaries, economists, statisticians, anthropologists, lawyers, engineers in water and sanitation, demographers, etc.

Outlets

The Master of Public Health (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.

Current research projects and partners

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

PhD candidates and research fellows

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

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Management team