Background: In sub-Saharan Africa, the DRC ranks among countries with high infant mortality. To solve this problem, the Health Ministry has set up a programme: the use of integrated management childhood illness (IMCI) in community care sites (CCSs) managed by non-health professional persons known as community health workers (CHW). This approach has not yet been integrated into the health pyramid. This is why we chose the Realist Evaluation Approach to evaluate the effectiveness of this programme on Universal Access to care for children under 5 years of age in the DRC. Methods/design: To conduct this exploratory study which is essentially a descriptive case study, we applied the principles of a realist evaluation by context-mechanisms-effects explained in the conceptual framework. The preliminary theory of the programme was elaborated by data collection through a literature review coupled with semi-structured interviews with key informants who were managers of the government programme and technical and financial partners of the programme. Results: IMCI has been evaluated and shown its positive contribution in the reduction of global children mortality. In the DRC, summaries of data collection through a literature review coupled with semi-structured interviews showed the same result. However, under criticism, based on the data collected during this exploratory study, it is promisingly apparent that this programme will achieve the objectives assigned to it through the preliminary theory of the programme. Conclusion: The literature review corroborated the effectiveness of the IMCI

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Introduction: To participate effectively in the fight against tuberculosis (TB), mothers need to have a good knowledge of TB and its prevention. The objective of this study was to evaluate the knowledge of mothers about TB and Bacillus Calmette Guérin (BCG). Methods: This was a cross-sectional survey performed from September to December 2015 in 4 health care facilities of Kinshasa. It concerned mothers of children who received BCG vaccine. The frequencies and chi-square of Pearson were used to report results. Results: A total of 380 couples of the children and their mothers were recruited. The median age of children was 16 months (ranges: 6 days to 59 months); 224 (58.9%) of them received BCG during the period recommended; 62 (16.3%) experienced a side effect. There was a significant association (p = 0.00) between sides effects and the delayed vaccination. The average age of the mothers was 29.3 ± 6.4 years; 352 (92.6%) had heard about TB; 28 (7.4%) never heard about it; 168 (44.2%) knew that TB is a contagious disease; only 111 (29.2%) knew the mode of transmission; 87 (22.9%) did not know any signs of TB, and 54 (14.2%) knew about prevention with the BCG vaccine. Factors significantly associated with the mothers' lack of knowledge were a low level of education (p = 0.01), young age (p = 0.02), and place of residence (p = 0.04). Conclusion: There is an urgent need to improve the education of the population, particularly those who lives in poor conditions and who are uneducated.

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