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 15 Jan DRC doctor receives ‘African of the Year’ award
A Democratic Republic of Congo doctor who treats women raped by combatants in the war-torn country has been awarded the "African of the Year" title.
Denis Mukwege, 53 (pictured) who runs a clinic in Bukavu, where he receives an average of 10 new patients every day has said all sides have "declared women their common enemy".
He says his award from the Nigerian Daily Trust paper of $20,000 (Ł13,700) will be used to fund a centre to help rape victims rejoin society.
Women in DR Congo are often raped and subjected to terrible violence by armed men as part of the decade-old conflict.
Dr Mukwege’s Panzi hospital helps women with the physical and psychological injuries after being attacked. It also provides help for women who have contracted HIV/Aids from their attackers. A third of patents undergo major surgery.
This is the first African of the Year Award, given by the Nigerian newspaper.
"I am pleased to accept this award if it will highlight the situation of women in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo," Dr Mukwege told the BBC French service after accepting the award at a ceremony in Nigeria's capital, Abuja.
Earlier this month Dr Mukwege was awarded the Olof Palme prize, awarded for outstanding achievement in promoting peace. He studied gynaecology in France and returned to set up a clinic in Lemera, South Kivu in the east of the country. The hospital was destroyed in 1996, during the civil war.
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