From the hospital in Panzi, Congo - where he treats women victims of violence, the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Mukwege has sent his full support to the appeal ‘ There is no future without the elderly’.
‘I support your initiative - he wrote - aimed at promoting the elderly’s health who were the most affected by the pandemic of Covid-19. I think it is necessary for the world to take new social and health initiatives to ensure better care for the elderly".
In 1998 Dr. Mukwege, where a Congolese gynaecologist, started to build the hospital in Panzi, on the outskirts of Bukavu, where he has treated more than 50,000 women since then. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 2018 for his efforts to end violence against women in war zones.
At the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, he launched an appeal for the prevention of contagion in Africa. A hospital ward in Panzi was dedicated to treatment of Covid-19 patient. He has thus indicated the elderly and women as two groups particularly at risk of infection in Africa: "We are going through an unprecedented health crisis. It may affect us all, but it exposes the most vulnerable, such as the elderly, to additional risks. Because of the so deeply rooted gender inequalities, girls and women will bemore severely affected by the pandemic. Although coronavirus deaths are in higher percentage male, women account for 70% of care givers and social workers.
His signature adds to the numerous ones from the world of culture and science and the tens of thousands we are continuing to receive from all over the world. A moral uprising against selective health care is taking ground to change the direction of care for the elderly, so that especially the most vulnerable will never be considered a burden or, worse, useless.
