Since 2006, Mutualités Libres and Louvain Coopération have been working together to create and develop health mutuals to guarantee access to healthcare for the entire population. These structures play a vital role in women's health. Christian Horemans, International Affairs Expert at the Union nationale des Mutualités Libres, and Brice Titipo, Head of the Access to Healthcare and Health Promotion Programme in West Africa for Louvain Coopération, talk about our joint health projects. Interview.

The mutual health insurance schemes that we support in Burundi give affiliated women access to all pregnancy-related care. But until now, more serious illnesses such as cervical or breast cancer were not covered. This is about to change. "Many women die in ignorance. They are treated by healers when they could be treated more quickly and effectively if they were diagnosed early enough. It's vital that they are made aware of the existence of these diseases and how to recognise them," insists Dr Jeanine.

In December, Hélène, Manon and Gwendolyn, three medical students at UCLouvain, completed a placement in Cambodia at one of our partner hospitals. One of them reflects on this human and medical experience.

For a number of years, Louvain Coopération has made environmental protection one of its key concerns. The difficulty of ecological projects lies in finding a balance between preserving a fragile natural environment and maintaining economic activity for local populations.

Mangrove forests develop in wetlands, at the interface between sea and land. They are a bulwark against the winds and waves, but also a breeding ground and nursery for thousands of animal and plant species. For their inhabitants, they are a reserve of wood essential to the construction of houses and canoes, but also a larder for those whose survival depends on fishing. On a global scale, they are a veritable lung, capturing up to ten times more CO2 per hectare than a conventional forest.

Louvain Coopération is taking part in a vast project for the restoration and sustainable management of mountainous agricultural ecosystems in South Kivu, initiated by the FAO (United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation). The programme covers the territories of Kabare and Walungu, in the vicinity of the Kahuzi Biega National Park. Its aim is to improve development opportunities in the Democratic Republic of Congo through the sustainable exploitation of natural resources, as well as reforestation and the sustainable, community-based management of these resources.

In all the areas in which it operates, Louvain Coopération supports men and women farmers. The general aim is to improve living conditions for families, by working to diversify and increase harvests and related income, but also to structure cooperatives or sectors.

The Environmental Integration Tool Approach, also known as the "OIE" Approach, is a system designed to effectively and systematically integrate the environment into all Louvain Coopération projects linked to food and economic security. It is based on questionnaires covering soil, water and air quality, as well as biodiversity, waste, energy and the ability of local players to integrate the environment into their activities.

Since 2015, Louvain Coopération has been working with its local partners to support street children in the DRC. The aim: to support, but also to offer a future to these young people who have already suffered far too much.

Between 2016 and 2021, in the province of South Kivu, 600 vulnerable children and orphans were supported to finance their minerval fees and thus complete their primary or secondary education.