Doctor and human rights activist, Dr. Alain Mukwege, whose work is inspired by his renowned father, Congolese physician Denis Mukwege, recipient of the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize, is researching a new way to help repair large fistulas, most commonly caused by complications during childbirth or as a result of sexual violence.
Dr. Alain Mukwege currently resides in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he is undergoing training in obstetrics and gynecology. He is also a member of the advisory board of the American branch of the Panzi Foundation, founded by his father, which shares the name of the Panzi Hospital, where Dr. Denis Mukwege treats thousands of women who are victims of sexual violence. Panzi Foundation USA is a non-profit organization with a mission to provide holistic care (considering the "whole human being": physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual aspects) to victims of sexual violence and advocate for an end to violence against women and girls in the DR Congo and beyond its borders.
Within this framework, Dr. Alain Mukwege's work also involves establishing partnerships between American institutions and the Panzi Hospital to help develop local Congolese capacities to address local issues. This has been manifested through collaborations with institutions such as the School of Nursing at the University of Michigan, where Dr. Alain Mukwege has been involved in research, and with World without Genocide, a human rights advocacy organization based at the Mitchell Hamline School of Law (Minnesota). World Without Genocide promotes education and action to protect the innocent, prevent genocide, pursue the guilty, and remember those whose lives and cultures have been destroyed by genocide. Dr. Alain Mukwege also conducts several conferences.
From a young age, Alain Mukwege knew he wanted to become a doctor. "When I was about nine years old, I accompanied my father as he treated patients in a small field hospital. It was a very poor region of the country, but what struck me was the expression of gratitude when he helped people feel better. It was beyond material things," he stated in an interview with the School of Nursing at the University of Michigan.
Dr. Alain Mukwege holds a Master's degree in clinical research and translational science, obtained in 2010 at the Evangelical University in Africa, a private evangelical Christian university in the DRC, located in the South Kivu province, in the city of Bukavu. His research focuses on developing mechanisms to improve women's health and prevent gender-based violence. In the same year, he began working at the Panzi Hospital as a physician and teaching assistant. Alain Mukwege believed that the best way for him to have a widespread impact was through research. Thus, in 2011, he traveled to the United States to pursue a Master's in clinical research at the Mayo Clinic, a world-renowned American hospital-university and research federation located in Rochester, Minnesota. In 2019-2020, the Mayo Clinic was ranked the best hospital in the United States, across all specialties, by the US News & World Report magazine.
Alain Mukwege, it is explained, who lives in the United States with his wife and children, plans to return to the DRC after his four-year residency in obstetrics and gynecology. "I want to acquire different knowledge and bring it back to the DRC to improve the quality of life for my people. That would be the best thing for me."
As for comparisons with his father's great reputation, Dr. Alain Mukwege stated that the only pressure he feels comes from within. "He has done so much, and I want to contribute as much as he has. That's the pressure I feel. My dream is to continue his mission and vision. We must empower women because if you empower women, you are able to empower the entire community and future generations."