Officials at Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC) have called upon people who may suffer from trauma during the 30th commemoration of the Genocide against the Tutsi (Kwibuka 30), to make optimal use of mental health services that are available at various levels, ranging from health centres to the referral hospitals across the country.

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On Sunday, April 7, Rwanda, and friends of Rwanda across the world, will begin week-long activities to commemorate the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi that claimed over one million lives in just 100 days.

The period is always characterised with mental health cases like trauma which showcase among people, especially survivors in various areas of the country, including places where public commemoration ceremonies are held, or even at home.

In 2023, up to 2,184 mental health cases were received by medics in various places of the country during the commemoration period. Of these, 1,510 were managed at community level, 309 at the health centre level, while 136 were handled by hospitals and 229 through the emergency hotlines in place.

Speaking in a press conference on Thursday, April 4, Dr Darius Gishoma, the Mental Health Division Manager at RBC, called upon people to provide support to any of their counterparts who may suffer from trauma. He also pointed out that the services to support patients are available.

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The 2018 Rwanda Mental Health Survey conducted by the RBC showed that the prevalence of one or more mental disorders among the general population was 20.5 percent, while it was 52.2 percent among genocide survivors.

The prevalence of mental disorders is 3 to 4 times higher among the genocide survivors, according to the survey. The same survey showed that the mental health service utilisation was generally low, as nearly 40 percent of the general population was not aware of where they could seek mental health support.

In the past three decades, Rwanda has built health infrastructure which allows mental health care to be delivered at all levels of the health system.

In addition to the four specialised mental health services (Ndera Neuropsychiatric Teaching Hospital, Kigali Mental Health Referral Centre, Huye Isange Rehabilitation Center, Icyizere psychotherapy Centre), there are mental health departments in 4 national referral services (CHUK, CHUB, Rwanda Military Hospital, and King Faisal Hospital).

There are also mental health units in 46 districts and provincial hospitals.

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