Surgical access
Cataract surgery is a central documented focus. ChOSEN also describes retinal surgery and other sight-restoring care, subject to current staff, equipment, authorization and follow-up capacity.
The Congo chapter
Documented work in the DRC—without overstating the evidence.
Public sources support a careful account of work involving Kinshasa, Vanga, other interior areas and a 2024 field report from Lubumbashi. They describe separate organizations, programmes and research partnerships.
Sourced information
What the public record supports
Public sources support a careful account of work involving Kinshasa, Vanga, other interior areas and a 2024 field report from Lubumbashi. They describe separate organizations, programmes and research partnerships.
Training local professionals
Fundación Visión reports microscope donation for physician training and surgery. The 2024 IAPB field report also describes a developing doctor-training effort.
Community pathways
Peer-reviewed Kinshasa research documents a defined paediatric cataract pathway involving community case-finding, hospital care and follow-up. It cannot be generalized to every programme.
Equipment and systems
Public reports describe equipment, glasses distribution, workflow, infection-control and data support. Current inventory and availability must always be reconfirmed.
Locations named in public sources
Locations named in public sources
Kinshasa
ChOSEN describes a Congo Eye Clinic and Surgery Center in Kinshasa and identifies Duerksen as an in-country leader. Separate peer-reviewed research documents a paediatric pathway at St. Joseph Hospital.
Vanga and interior areas
Fundación Visión reports microscope-supported cataract surgery and physician training in Vanga and other areas in collaboration with CBM, with plans to extend access through mobile and fixed services.
Lubumbashi
A March 2024 IAPB field account describes training, two distribution clinics and a stock of 2,550 glasses at the time of the visit. It is dated evidence, not a statement of current inventory.
Organizations and boundaries
Organizations and boundaries
Fundación Visión
Reports the Paraguay history, DRC microscope donation, Vanga activity, training and future plans.
ChOSEN Eye Mission
Describes the Kinshasa clinic, volunteer surgical missions, logistics and Duerksen’s Congo role.
CBM
Named by Fundación Visión as a DRC collaborator and connected to Duerksen’s earlier regional consulting.
St. Joseph Hospital Kinshasa
Clinical site in defined paediatric cataract research; not presented as operated by Fundación Visión or ChOSEN.
Rostock University Medical Center
Consultation and project-coordination partner in the paediatric research programme.
Peer-reviewed evidence
A 2024 Children paper and a January 2026 Scientific Reports paper document a specific Kinshasa paediatric cataract programme and list Duerksen among the authors. Their clinical and cost findings apply to that defined programme, not to every DRC patient or mission.
This platform does not claim national coverage, universal free treatment, fixed patient prices, guaranteed results or that Dr. Duerksen personally performs every procedure.
Research sources