March at Unikin or the Feminine Scientific Power! University of Kinshasa, Thursday, March 2, 2023, Monekosso Room, Unikin Grand Conference. Unikin launched the activities of the month of March by welcoming a scientific divinity, Professor Francine Ntoumi. She is a renowned malariologist, winner of the Mérieux Prize (2016), President of the Congolese Foundation (Brazza) for medical research, President of the scientific council of the Research Institute for Development, Professor at the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Tubingen (Germany), First African woman Head of the Secretariat of the Multilateral Initiative on Malaria. Freshly arrived from Brazzaville, she electrified the room by speaking about “Tools for the Control and Elimination of Malaria”. To eliminate malaria (in a given area), she said, there must be genuine political will, public participation in the chosen program, consideration of malaria parasites other than Plasmodium falciparum, and, of course, increased research activities (on local vectors, prevention, availability of effective drugs, drug resistance, etc.).

By the way, did you know that Tutakhamun, the eleventh pharaoh of the dynasty, son of Akhenaten and the latter's own sister, may have died of malaria more than a millennium BC? As Dean Mbungu of the Faculty of Medicine said: Professor Ntoumi has... pulled out all the stops! Bravo to the organizers of this great scientific activity, including Professor Bompangue.

Professor Antoine Tshimpi, SGR.