­­­Marx Itabelo Lwabanya, MD, EMHL, AFHE, MISH

Lead Physician, Democratic Republic of Congo

Dr. Marx Itabelo Lwabanya is the Medical Director at Nundu Deaconess Hospital and the Executive Director & Co-founder of JALI AFYA, a non-profit in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Marx is passionate about empowering healthcare workers to address mental health and trauma to provide holistic care for patients. His interest focuses on improving maternal and newborn health in limited resource settings. His time serving poor communities in Nundu, D. R. Congo, a post conflict zone, reshaped his interest towards a holistic approach to a mother’s health that includes both mental and physical health.

Previously, he has served with Hope Africa University in Burundi. He holds an MA in Healthcare Leadership from Brown University and a Bachelor of Medicine from UOB, Bukavu. He recently attended a course on Managing Innovation for Sustainable Health offered by Karolinska Institute in collaboration with the School of Public Health Kinshasa, Makerere and Benadir University.