Shungu Clinic Fights Ebola Through Nurse Education
Harper Hill Global assists clinic and provides messaging and resources for campaign.
Commentary by the Rev. Dr. Betty Kazadi Musau
September 29, 2026 | KAMINA, DR Congo
Harper Hill Global’s support is making a lifesaving difference in the ongoing STOP Ebola campaign in the North Katanga area of Congo.
Thanks to Harper Hill Global, we have been able to send out messages on radio and television. A manual for pastors and laity, created by Harper Hill Global, has been used to teach nurses and medical doctors. And flyers with important messages from the newly released guide (Protéger les Vivants tout en Honorant les Défunts) have been used to take the campaign to pastors, laity and medical personnel.
In my role as director of communication for The United Methodist Church’s North Katanga Episcopal Area, I often say that information is power and healing.
Pastors and laity from North Katanga have been trained by doctors on symptoms and prevention of Ebola. Medical personnel from Shungu Memorial Clinic in Kamina have been trained as well.
After facilitating a session for pastors and laity, Dr. Patrick Ilunga Kilunji organized doctors and nurses from Shungu Clinic to pass on the same message that he had shared with clergy.
Apart from the Ebola campaign, friends from within the Democratic Republic of Congo, including the North Katanga region of The United Methodist Church and Harper Hill Global, have been serving courageously the Haut Lomami community, addressing both hypertension and the STOP Ebola campaign with animations, flyers and SMS texting.
Kilunji and Dr. Numbi Nkulu, facilitators, shared the information gathered on the STOP Ebola campaign with nurses and medical colleagues working at the Shungu Clinic. Shungu is a clinic of The United Methodist Church that serves the surrounding neighborhoods and even the population from Kasai, the neighboring province. Kilunji explained the importance of educating nurses about Ebola virus prevention. Thirty-four were trained, including matrons, nurses and medical doctors who practice at Shungu Clinic.
Kilunji emphasized the need to train the nurses and doctors because they are exposed within the facility through their interactions with patients. Nurses welcome patients with all kinds of symptoms, and he alerted them that sometimes symptoms of Ebola are similar to those of malaria. He said prevention starts with oneself.
He thanked the participants and United Methodist Bishop Mande Muyombo, who prioritizes health in North Katanga.
Topics covered were:
Ebola virus disease prevention
Definition of Ebola virus disease
Epidemiology
Modes of transmission (direct and indirect)
Symptoms
Cases of infection
Harper Hill Global continues to teach Ebola prevention throughout the DR Congo. Your monthly gift of $50 or more goes a long way in saving one person's life.
Mwepu Muleka, the nurse in chief, emphasized the importance of personal protection with appropriate equipment and expressed his gratitude to the ongoing training for nurses in terms of preventive measures. Maternity ward matrons were included because “Ebola is real,” and information is another form of love," he declared.
He said that health care workers are the most exposed and vulnerable to Ebola infection, and he recommended strengthening protective measures.
The day ended with a tour of Shungu Clinic to evaluate and discuss protective measures during the current outbreak. The clinic has 32 rooms in use, including eight shared rooms, 14 individual rooms, three doctors' offices, three consultation rooms, one operating room, a maternity ward, one emergency room and one prevention room.
Let nurses note that there are only four handwashing stations for the entire facility, which is not enough. The managing team is planning to increase handwashing stations and to hold another training of community health workers that will help alert the community as partners with Shungu Clinic.
Shungu Clinic extended the work to the community health workers. They are the bridges between the community and the clinic, Kilunji said. Participants were happy to get training on community awareness, and they will double their work in the community because of Ebola.
Together, let us stop Ebola.
Kazadi Musau is director of communication for The United Methodist Church’s North Katanga Episcopal Area.
Harper Hill Global provides media, messaging, and mobile solutions that combat misinformation while teaching evidence-based Ebola prevention. Your gifts will help us equip and train locally trusted leaders with the materials they need to teach in churches, mosques, community centers and more. Each portable classroom costs $2,500.
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