Democratic Republicof the Congo

March 25th

2013Carl McAlduff

My Country My Country is called Democratic Republic of the Congo.The geography in DRC is mostly flat grassland

and rain forest. The strong Congo River flows north and then south through a land full of minerals, fertile farmlands, and rain forests. The country has a tiny coast on the Atlantic Ocean, which is just enough to have room for the mouth of the Congo River.

The main languages used in DRC are French, Lingala, Kiswahili, Kikongo, and Tshiluba.

History In 1960, DRC won its independence from Belgium. Soon after independence, the country became a mix of unrest, rebellion, dictatorships,

armed conflict with neighboring countries, and other nearby countries controlling DRC land.

Following the assassination of the country's leader Laurent Kabila in 2001, a United Nations peacekeeping mission was deployed throughout the country, and a transitional government took office in 2003. The DRC held multiparty elections in 2006 and 2011.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Timeline 1870s - Belgian King Leopold II sets about colonizing the area as his private place 1908 - Congo Free State placed under Belgian rule following outrage over treatment of

Congolese peope 1960 - Independence, then followed by a civil war and temporary breakup of country

land 1965 - Mobutu Sese Seko seizes power 1997 - Rebels get rid of Mobutu. Laurent Kabila becomes president 1997-2003 - Civil war, drawing in several neighboring countries (Africa's first world war) 2001 – Assassination of Laurent Kabila 2003 - 2012 - Conflict persists in the east 2006 - Presidential election

A Major ProblemOne of the Major Problems in DRC

(Democratic Republic of the Congo) is that there are only 12 doctors per 100,000 people.

Because there are fewer doctors people spread diseases at a faster pace. They are slow to get well or remain sick because there is not enough medicine to heal them. Congolese people die earlier, lowering the birthrate, population, and life expectancy - all because of not having enough doctors and medicine!

Possible Solutions Here are some possible solutions to this problem with positives

and negatives:1) One is DRC can send Congolese students to the US to learn

and study at Medical Schools. The positive part about this idea is that there will be an increase in doctors in DRC. The negative part about this is the students might not understand English.

2) The US can send Medical Teachers to DRC to teach students how to be a Doctor. The Positive effect is that there will be more doctors in DRC. The negative is that the teachers might not understand French, Lingala, Kikongo, and Tshiluba.

3) In DRC people can learn how to use herbs for sicknesses from other people in DRC. The positive is that the Congolese people don’t have to leave their country. The negative is that the people might not heal as quickly.

4) Negotiate a trade with neighboring countries in which DRC receives doctors. A positive for this is that DRC will get more Doctors. The negative is that the countries might not want to help DRC because after 1960, the country had armed conflicts with neighboring countries.

Which solution do you pick?

Proposed Solution to the Doctor ShortageWell, the solution that I have chosen is #2, to send

Medical Doctors from the US to DRC to teach students how to become doctors. This will increase the amount of doctors in DRC as well as help really sick and poor people.

There is no current program in place to send US doctors to the DRC. I would request International Aid from the United Nations to offer incentives to these American doctors. I would also request International Aid to increase the budgets of DRC’s four medical schools to make sure all the new medical students had enough supplies.

Final PlanTo help the doctor shortage problem, DRC

and Cameroon negotiated a trade. Cameroon needed gold and DRC needed doctors. DRC traded part of its land to Cameroon with 1 gold mine. In return, Cameroon traded 130 doctors and 10 gallons of salt to DRC. That helps about 130 communities of 100,000 people have 1 more doctor.