Dr. Richard Kojan leads the team that developed the CUBE. This individual, bio-secure, and easily transportable treatment room with transparent walls is an innovation that allows medical staff to treat Ebola patients in remote and low-resource areas while keeping healthcare workers safe from contamination.
Dr. Kojan, a Congolese Anesthesiologist and Intensive Care Specialist, has devoted his entire career to care for and help the most vulnerable populations.
“This award is an honor for me, but it is the medical innovation brought by this tool, for the benefit of the patient, that must be rewarded. It is a team effort and I salute the performance of my colleagues and co-creators of the CUBE. Thanks to this collective intelligence, thanks to the ALIMA caregivers and employees who are present daily on the field, we are transforming humanitarian medicine. Innovation is our guideline in our projects, and it allows us to provide the necessary care for Ebola patients.” – Dr. Richard Kojan.
© John Wessels / ALIMA
ALIMA’s CUBEs are currently being used to fight Ebola outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the second-largest outbreak in the world. As innovative tools, the 30 CUBEs currently deployed at ALIMA’s Ebola Treatment Centers in DRC have contributed to lowering the mortality rate to less than 35%, along with the quality of patient care, vaccination and treatment. The CUBE is changing the interaction between the medical staff and patients thanks to the transparent walls of the CUBE. Patients and their loved ones stay in contact throughout the treatment and communicate safely.
“Before the creation of the CUBE, Ebola patients had to stay alone, without medical supervision, without his family. The situation was difficult for patients, health workers, families and communities. Thanks to the CUBE, the patient can spend time with his family. He can keep in touch with his loved ones and his community. The CUBE is changing lives of Ebola patients” – Dr. Richard Kojan.
Cover photo: © Reaching the Last Mile Forum
