The document discusses the Democratic Republic of Congo, including its geography, languages, history of independence and conflicts, and one of its major problems being a shortage of doctors. It proposes several potential solutions to increase the number of doctors in DRC and discusses their positives and negatives. The proposed solution is for DRC to negotiate a trade with neighboring Cameroon, trading land and a gold mine for doctors and other resources to help address the lack of healthcare.

1. March 25th
2013
Carl McAlduff

2. 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.

3. 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.
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 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 SeseSeko 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

4. A Major Problem
 One 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!

5. 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?

6. Proposed Solution to the
Doctor Shortage
 Well, 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.

7. Final Plan
 To 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.