Addressing Human Health Concerns in the Okapi Wildlife Reserve

Healthcare continues to be the number one concern for residents living in and around the Okapi Wildlife Reserve, and by providing access to basic healthcare needs, we build positive relationships and strengthen our trust within the community which allows us to have open discussions and conversations on ways to improve their livelihoods and protect okapi. 

In addition to building and operating the Okapi Dispensary in Epulu, our team also supports 20 rural health clinics around the Reserve with supplies, medicines and other needs to ensure communities remain healthy and ICCN ecoguards can access health care while at patrol posts located in remote areas bordering the Reserve.

In 2019, we constructed a new wing of the Okapi Dispensary to care for additional patients, and this year, thanks to funding from a generous donor, we renovated the original building of the Okapi Dispensary to bring it up to par with the new wing built three years earlier, and provided training for four nurses to expand their skill sets and learn new and improved techniques for testing and treating patients that visit with a wide range of injuries and ailments including malaria, typhoid, and water-borne diseases.

Original wing of Okapi Dispensary during renovations

Original wing of Okapi Dispensary after renovations.