The Dikembe and Rose Mutombo Compassionate Cancer Center, built by the Friends of Africa, will be a first-of-its-kind sanctuary in sub-Saharan Africa dedicated to the holistic healing and empowerment of women cancer survivors. While treatment for breast and cervical cancer is expanding across Africa, care for survivors remains vastly underserved. Women often return home with lingering physical symptoms, emotional trauma, and social stigma – with no structured support system to guide their recovery. This innovative aftercare Center will address that gap through a community-based, culturally responsive approach that provides comprehensive rehabilitative, psychological, spiritual, and economic support – all within a serene, purpose-built facility currently under construction on 25 acres outside Lusaka, Zambia. It will create a transformative space where women cancer survivors are restored – physically, emotionally, spiritually, and socially – so they can thrive beyond survival.
In 2016, the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation, Inc. in Atlanta, Georgia launched a landmark cervical cancer awareness and screening campaign at the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This initiative marked a pivotal moment in women’s health advocacy in the region and was made possible through a multi-stakeholder collaboration, including the Friends of Africa, led by Dr. Groesbeck Parham and his specialized medical team from Zambia. The campaign began with a public symposium attended by Dikembe Mutombo, along with a week-long awareness drive, followed by free cervical cancer screenings at the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital in his homeland. The hospital’s staff, equipped with advanced medical cervical cancer screening training from the Friends of Africa and international support, screened over 2,500 women during the initial phase – a number that has since grown to over 35,000 women screened to date, saving countless lives and raising national awareness.
The Dikembe and Rose Mutombo Compassionate Cancer Center named in honor of Rose Mutombo and her late husband, NBA legend Dikembe Mutombo who succumbed to brain cancer in 2024, will serve over 500 survivors annually, offering physical rehabilitation, mental health support, spiritual grounding, and livelihood training – all within a peaceful, purpose-built facility.
Dr. Groesbeck Parham is a world renowned gyneologic/oncologist who resides in Zambia and leads the U.S.-based, Friends of Africa nonprofit organization composed of highly skilled African American and African cancer surgeons and nurses dedicated to reducing cancer mortality in some of the world’s poorest regions. Through education, surgical training, and culturally responsive care, Friends of Africa has become a trusted leader in advancing health equity across the continent.
Written by Susan M. Johnson, Former Executive Director of Dikembe Mutombo Foundation, Inc., Atlanta, Georgia/USA.
