ITM-DRC Office

The ITM–DRC Office

The presence of ITM in the Democratic Republic of the Congo allows for a closer follow-up of the large volume of joint projects. ITM–DRC chose the capital Kinshasa as its base of operations. The representation is responsible for building and monitoring partner cooperation, both within capacity-strengthening projects, scientific research, and the elimination of sleeping sickness.

For its development, ITM’s DRC Office receives funding from the Directorate-General for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid (DGD) Belgium, which looks after the various aspects of Belgian development cooperation. Several other donors, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and the Research Foundation of Flanders (FWO), contributed as well.

Besides a local representative, the ITM–DRC Office employs a number of scientific experts who provide support, train partners and guide them in scientific research. Furthermore, the office in DRC consists of local and international staff who deal with administrative, logistical and financial issues on a daily basis, both in their own office and within the capacity strengthening of partners.

Framework agreement with partners

ITM's main partners in the DRC are:

• Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale (INRB)

• École de Santé Publique de l'Université de Lubumbashi (ESP/UNILU)

• Centre de Recherche en Santé de Kimpese (CRSK) de l'Institut Médical Evangélique

• Programme National de Lutte contre la Trypanosomiasis (PNLTHA)

 We signed a framework agreement with these partners, which serves as the basis for multi-year projects. There are also several cooperation agreements with other international organisations, such as the World Health Organisation and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).